The ban on displaying tobacco products in supermarkets and other large stores in effect since 2012 now also applies to small shops and clubs, the BBC reported.

Extension of the display ban was welcomed by anti-smoking groups as a means to keep cigarettes and other tobacco products out of the hands of youth, BBC said on its website. Tobacco Retailers Alliance spokesman Suleman Khonat criticized the extension, saying the impact of removing tobacco displays in large shops has not been evaluated. Small businessmen will suffer, he told the BBC.