Cigarette sales in Scotland have risen five per cent – despite the smoking ban. Latest figures show Scots are buying 61,000 more packets of cigarettes each week than before the ban was introduced in March.

It is a blow to health experts who predicted the ban would lead to a drop in cigarette sales. The figures from the Scottish Grocers Federation show Scots now spend £ 6.6million every week on 1.3 million packets of cigarettes. This is £ 300,000 more a week than before the ban in public places. A rise in the number of people smoking at home is said to be behind the increased cigarette sales. It echoes what happened in other countries with smoking bans, such as Spain and Ireland. (pi)