SHOPKEEPERS could be banned from displaying cigarettes under plans being considered by the Government.

The Department of Health said it was launching a consultation later this spring to look at ways to stop children smoking.

To reduce the number of smokers and prevent children taking up the habit, ministers have drawn up proposals including a bar on displaying tobacco products and the removal of vending machines from pubs.

Measures that make it easier to sell nicotine replacement gums and patches are also being proposed.

The suggestions follow the introduction of the ban on smoking in public places last July.

The Department of Health said the strategy - coupled with the wider smokefree legislation - will save hundreds of lives.

Someone who starts smoking aged 15 is three times more likely to die of cancer due to smoking than someone who starts in their late twenties, the department said.

Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said: "Children who smoke are putting their lives at risk and are more likely to die of cancer than people who start smoking later.

"It's vital we get across the message to children that smoking is bad. If that means stripping out vending machines or removing cigarettes from behind the counter, I'm willing to do that."

According to the Office for National Statistics, the proportion of adults who smoke has dropped by two per cent, from 24 per cent to 22 per cent.

About 165,000 smokers quit between April and September last year - an increase of 28 per cent compared with the same period the previous year. The Government has set a target of reducing the proportion of smokers in England to 21 per cent by 2010.

In this year's Budget, Chancellor Alistair Darling increased the duty on tobacco, adding 11p to the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes and 4p to the price of five cigars. He also said the Government was continuing the five per cent reduced rate of VAT on smoking cessation products beyond June 30.

Tory leader David Cameron told Vanessa Feltz on BBC Radio London: "I think this is worth looking at. As someone who struggled with giving up smoking, it helps if you take away some of the temptation.

"It is difficult and there will be all sorts of problems in terms of the layout of shops, that's why it's right to have a consultation, so let's have a look at this but let's not rule it out."