Shops in Australia's biggest state will have to keep cigarettes out of sight of their customers under new anti- smoking regulations, New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma said Wednesday.

'Smoking is a one-way ticket to misery,' Iemma said. 'There's only one reason why the tobacco companies do this sort of glossy advertising in shops and supermarkets, and that's to keep smokers hooked and hook our kids.'

Fines for smoking in cars with children under 16 are also to be put on the statute book.

'For many adults it's a one-way ticket to a cancer ward or the morgue, but the children don't get the choice,' Iemma said.

Australia has one of the lowest levels of smoking anywhere in the world, with only 18 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women regular smokers, down from 40 per cent of men and 32 per cent of women in 1983.

A recent study showed that the steep decline reflected the power of public health messages, punitive taxes on cigarettes and restrictions on advertising. Australia's first anti-smoking law was passed 97 years ago, and the last change made pubs, clubs and outdoor eating places smoke free.