PLANS to abolish tobacco displays and sell cigarettes from below the counter will cost Scottish corner shops up to £40m, ministers have been warned.

Traders claim the measures, expected to be set out by the Scottish government this week, will threaten the livelihoods of shopkeepers and that making tobacco more illicit may encourage more young people to take up smoking.

Shona Robison, the health minister, is determined to move tobacco products from view as part of the government’s ongoing drive to reduce smoking-related illnesses which claim the lives of about 13,500 people every year.

She regards recent moves, including raising the legal age for buying tobacco from 16 to 18 and banning smoking in public places, are only part of the solution.

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) said the cost of removing and replacing current displays and hiding tobacco products from consumers’ view could cost each of Scotland’s 8,000 small retailers between £1,850 and £4,985.

It claims the cost could be even higher as a result of lost trade during the changeover and longer queues for service which could put off some shoppers from using local stores because they will take longer to serve people buying tobacco.

The ACS said there was no evidence from Canada, which already bans tobacco displays, that the measure would reduce levels of smoking and that making it appear more of a taboo could prove counterproductive.

“We believe that young people tend to see smoking as attractive as a result of peer pressure and this could simply make smoking seem more attractive and make matters worse,” said ACS spokesman Shane Brennan.

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