A new survey has found that 98 per cent of shopkeepers in the South West have been approached by people wanting to buy cigarettes who were under the legal age of 16.

Furthermore 83 per cent of local shopkeepers received abuse when they refused the purchase.

The findings come as a new campaign - No ID No Sale - is launched to raise awareness of the minimum legal age for the purchase of age-restricted products - such as tobacco, alcohol, solvents and lottery tickets - and to help retailers refuse underage sales.

The aim of the No ID No Sale campaign - which has been developed by CitizenCard (the industry-funded national photo-ID scheme) - is to create a culture of expectation at the point-of-sale, that proof of age should either be offered or produced on demand.

No ID No Sale is supported by the Department of Health, the Trading Standards Institute, and manufacturers and retailers of age-restricted goods.

Melanie Johnson, the Minister for Public Health, said: 'The scheme will give support to retailers to ensure they don't break the law, and will help protect young people from the effects that these products can have on their health.'

The survey was conducted by the Tobacco Alliance in December 2003 and 1,600 independent retailers responded to the questionnaire.

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