Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, fresh off a defeat in his campaign to limit large servings of sugary drinks, is returning to a front where he has enjoyed far more success: making it more difficult to smoke, by proposing legislation on Monday requiring stores to put cigarettes out of sight.

Mr. Bloomberg said his bill would make New York the first city in the nation to force retailers to keep tobacco products hidden. He said they could be kept, for example, in a cabinet or a drawer, behind the counter or a curtain, but not anywhere where customers could see them.

The campaign is intended to shield children from tobacco marketing and to keep people who have quit smoking from buying cigarettes on impulse, he said.

“Such displays suggest that smoking is a normal activity, and they invite young people to experiment with tobacco,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference.