VENDING MACHINES BAN TO CUT SMOKING

Cigarettes could also be removed from public display and packs of 10 outlawed under measures being unveiled for consultation this week.

Mr Johnson backed a decision in Scotland to force cigarettes "under the counter". "I think they are right to do that and indeed we are considering that as well. We will launch a consultation document on that next week," he told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show.

"Younger people are more influenced by advertising. 200,000 kids under 16 start smoking every year and their chances of a premature death from smoking are three times higher than if they had started smoking in their 20s.

"Banning vending machines where you can't have any control over the age of the person who's buying it - that happened in many other European countries a long time ago - startling results there.

"The ability to buy 10 cigarettes. I started smoking very young when I was a kid and you could get 10 Woodbines and you could get threepenny singles.

"Well they have taken threepenny singles away but whether you should still be able to buy 10 cigarettes or whether you should insist you can only buy 20 is an issue we need to look very closely at."

His announcement was welcomed by anti-smoking pressure group Action on Smoking and Health (Ash).

Ash Director Deborah Arnott said: "The Government is to be congratulated for launching this ambitious consultation on a comprehensive new strategy to drive down smoking, so soon after successfully implementing 'smoke free' legislation.

"We welcome the focus on protecting children, as two thirds of smokers start smoking before they reach 18, significantly increasing their risk of dying from cancer."