THE display of tobacco products, which has been illegal for large stores and supermarkets since 2012, is now prohibited in all premises.

Campaign group Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) hailed the ban as an important breakthrough and said it strongly supported this “important step forward”.

Hazel Cheeseman, director of policy at Ash, said: “Two-thirds of smokers start before the age of 18, so it is vital that everything is done to put tobacco out of sight to protect future generations.

“The display ban in small shops will work hand-in-hand with standardised packs, which will be introduced in May 2016, to further protect children from glitzy tobacco packaging.”

From yesterday, cigarettes, cigars and rolling tobacco have to be covered up in all shops.

The Scottish Government introduced the legislation to reduce children and young people’s exposure to tobacco products.

All tobacco retailers in Scotland are registered with the Scottish Tobacco Retailers Register and they have all been contacted to let them know what is required.

Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health, said: “This is one of numerous measures we have introduced to try and reduce the appeal of smoking to young people.

“We want to create a tobacco-free generation in Scotland by 2034 – defined as having less than five per cent of the population smoking. To achieve this we need to stop young people from taking up the habit in the first place.

“Brightly coloured and well lit displays of cigarettes, in prominent positions in the shop, are only likely to increase the appeal of this deadly product.

"We must remember that tobacco kills half of all the people who use it, and it’s linked to 13,000 deaths in Scotland every year.

But retailers have branded the ban “unnecessary”, saying there is not enough proof it will have a real effect on child smoking rates.

Suleman Khonat, a spokesman for the Tobacco Retailers’ Alliance (TRA), said: “The introduction of the display ban into larger shops hasn’t even been evaluated, so how do we know it will work in smaller shops?

“Of course retailers will need to comply with the law but this is a further unnecessary measure that will hit small businesses.

“There will be real difficulties around its application, including longer transaction times, and the costs of implementation.

“It is an unnecessary burden on shops already struggling with red tape.”

The TRA said tobacco represented only about a third of the average newsagent’s turnover. It suggested that rather than banning the display of the products, the Government should crack down harder on the tobacco black market and increase resources to enforce the existing law on the prohibition of sales to under-18s.

But the Department of Health said ahead of the initial 2012 ban evidence showed cigarette displays “encourage young people to start smoking”, while covering the displays would help them to “resist temptation” and “help support adults who are trying to quit”.

Alison Cox, Cancer Research UK’s director of cancer prevention, said the ban was a positive step towards reducing the number of young smokers.