Dr Gruer's report said nearly a quarter of 15-year-old girls smoke

Andy Kerr said legislation on raising the age from 16 to 18 would be put in place by February or March.

However, he added that the change may not be implemented until after the Holyrood elections in May.

He also said a tough approach would be needed to deal with vendors who sold tobacco products to under-age people.

An expert group on smoking prevention made the recommendation on Wednesday.

On the 'get tough' policy, Mr Kerr said: "I'm sure we have to be much more assertive around controlling those who sell cigarettes to those who are clearly underage, as we are doing with test purchasing schemes at the moment.

"I don't think three strikes and you're out is sufficient, I'm not as tolerant as that.

"The legislation here is clear, the responsibility of vendors is clear so there are no excuses."

Regular smokers

However, Mr Kerr appeared to rule out implementing a recommendation by the Smoking Prevention Working Group to change how shops display tobacco products.

"I'm sure we could have a discussion about those ideas but I'm not sure about that one," he said.

The report, which was written on behalf of the group by Dr Laurence Gruer, director of public health science at NHS Health Scotland, made 31 recommendations to the health minister.

It quoted 2004 figures which suggested that 5% of boys and 7% of girls were regular smokers at the age of 13.

Proposals in this report are a welcome step forward Shona Robison MSP SNP health spokeswoman

This rose to 14% and 24% by the age of 15.

The report called for tough fines for shopkeepers who break the law and a "negative licensing" scheme so shops which repeatedly sell cigarettes to under-age youngsters are barred from selling tobacco products.

In an interview on BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Kerr also expressed concerns over a case being heard before the European Court of Justice which could have enabled consumers to buy drinks and cigarettes online at lower duties from other countries.

Mr Kerr said pricing was a legitimate part of public policy on alcohol and tobacco and any ruling allowing people to avoid paying excise duty in their home country could undermine that.

However, the European Court of Justice ruled against a change in the law on Thursday morning.

'Lobbied government'

The plan to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes has been welcomed by the smokers' lobby group Forest and anti-smoking group Ash Scotland.

A British American Tobacco spokesperson said: "We support Scotland in their decision to raise the age of purchase for tobacco products and have also lobbied the English government for some time now on this very issue.

"We believe the choice to smoke should be made by informed adults."

Shona Robison, SNP health spokeswoman, said: "The smoking ban in Scotland was a major step forward in public health.