Adults in Scotland who buy cigarettes for under-age young people could soon face prosecution, bringing the law on the sale of tobacco products in the country into line with that on alcohol.

The Scottish government revealed today that it is to insert a new clause into the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services Bill, now going through Parliament, would would outlaw the use of what is known as ‘proxy purchasing’.

The move has been disclosed by Shona Robison, the deputy health minister in the Scottish government, in a letter to Christine Grahame, the convener of Holyrood’s health committee. It comes after pressure from the committee for the new clause.

It is already illegal in Scotland for an adult to buy alcohol and then pass it on to a child, but as yet there is no such law for tobacco.

The intention to tackle proxy purchasing is seen by ministers as a way of passing the onus of responsibility from shopkeepers and other retail outlets to those who buy tobacco products for under-18s.

The Bill, when it is finally passed by MSPs, will also ban the display of tobacco in Scottish shops, outlaw cigarette vending machines and introduce a registration system for tobacco retailers.

Ms Robison said the Scottish government had consulted with a number of groups, including young people, on what she said would be a “major change” covering proxy purchasing.

Under the current tobacco laws only the retailer commits an offence when someone under the age of 18 is sold a tobacco product. Retailers have expressed concern that all the responsibility for abiding by tobacco retail laws rests on them.

A Scottish government spokesman said: “We have made clear that the Bill should be amended at Stage 2 to outlaw proxy purchase and underage purchase of tobacco products and cigarette papers. Doing this will ensure that there is more of a balance between the statutory responsibilities of tobacco retailers and underage purchasers or people buying on their behalf.

“Our decision has been informed by consultations undertaken with key stakeholders and young people.”

The Scottish Grocers Federation backed the change, with a submission to MSPs on the committee stating that knowingly buying tobacco for a person who was legally too young to smoke was “unarguably immoral and should be illegal”.

A recent survey of adolescents in Scotland revealed that among 13-year-olds, the proportion of regular smokers remained much the same in 2006 and 2008, at 3 per cent in both years for boys and falling from 5 per cent to 4 per cent for girls.

The survey was carried out in autumn 2008 and completed by 10,000 school pupils aged between 13 and 15. Among 15-year-old boys, the number who regularly smoked increased from 12 per cent in 2006 to 14 per cent in 2008. There were, however, fewer girls smoking at this age — down from 18 per cent in 2006 to 16 per cent last year.

Meanwhile, retail groups representing small stores has warned that the black market in cigarettes will be boosted by the government’s ban on tobacco displays, They are convinced that the quantity of smuggled cigarettes and tobacco will escalate, cutting tax revenues and forcing the trade under the counter.

Another recent survey showed that four out of five of those running Scotland’s corner shops think the measure would take trade from themselves, and merely hand over sales to black market racketeers.

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