By Marjory Inglis, health reporter

A NATIONAL anti-smoking charity is calling for cigarette sales to be pushed under the counter.

ASH Scotland wants to see tobacco treated like pornography, hidden out of the sight of children.

On this World No Tobacco Day, ASH Scotland has marked the success of the nation’s ban on smoking in public places but says there is still work to do to steer children in particular away from smoking and ensure they have a healthy future.

The charity is campaigning for a rise in the age at which tobacco can be purchased, more investment in support for people trying to quit smoking and for shops to keep tobacco out of sight from children.

“Let’s bring in under-the-counter tobacco sales which would stop tobacco companies promoting and marketing their brands at the point of sale to young people and to those smokers who want to stop,” said ASH Scotland chief executive Maureen Moore.

“A recent US study found that tobacco display advertising appeared to be associated with teen smoking and that beginning to smoke at a young age also led to smoking more and an increased risk of associated health problems. The researchers predicted that if stores did not have advertising there would be a relative decline of about 13% in current established smokers.”

To mark World No Tobacco Day 2007, ASH Scotland today published a report that highlights Scotland’s successful move to bring in a ban on smoking in public places and the lessons that other countries can learn from the national experience.

Ms Moore said that the report, Smoke-Free Success, shows that the ban on smoking in public places has been hugely successful in Scotland. Air quality in bars was now almost reaching that of outdoor air with an 86% reduction in second hand smoke and reported improvements in the health of those who previously worked in smoky atmospheres.

“Scotland has led the way, not just in the UK but across Europe, in bringing forward a comprehensive and effective ban on smoking in public places which is helping protect the health of those who live in and visit Scotland,” said Ms Moore.

“However the work does not stop here and we must continue to tackle the health hazards caused by smoking by helping existing smokers to quit and preventing future generations from starting to smoke.

“ASH Scotland will continue to work with parliamentarians, councillors, the NHS and others to do this by highlighting particular areas that need action.

“Scotland’s brave move to go smoke-free is the beginning of a new and healthier Scotland but we cannot be complacent when much more needs to be done.

“We have started the journey to get rid of Scotland’s tag of the ‘sick man of Europe’ and that is in itself a major success story for Scotland.”

Cancer Research UK who gave a grant to fund production of Smoke-Free Success welcomed the report, saying that while going smoke free would undoubtedly save tens of thousands of lives, it was just a first step.

Its director of tobacco control, Jean King, said, “With an estimated 1.4 million smokers—half of whom will die of a smoking related disease— we need the Scottish Executive’s continued commitment to reduce the number of people who smoke and make smoking less appealing to young people.”