winston cigarettes are to be forced beneath shop counters with supermarkets and cornershops banned from displaying tobacco products, The Times has learnt . The latest assault on smokers will also see the disappearance of vending machines from pubs and restaurants in an attempt to further limit childrenТs access to tobacco. Both measures are to be included in a consultation to be launched later this spring. Legislation, if needed, could be introduced this autumn. Dawn Primarolo, the Minister for Public Health, last night signalled she was ready to take on retailers to implement changes that she claimed would save hundreds of lives. УItТs 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, IТm willing to do that,Ф she said. УChildren who smoke are putting their lives at risk and are more likely to die of cancer than people who start smoking later.Ф