Plain packaged cigarettes come into force

New rules have come into force which mean cigarettes and tobacco must be sold in plain green packets and carry graphic health warnings.

One year after the tobacco companies were required to manufacture all cigarette in standardised ‘plain’ packs the transition period is coming to an end and all packs on sale in shops will also be required to meet these standards

Currently, about 17 per cent of the UK adult population are smokers.

The rules, which also end the sale of packets of 10, are designed to deter young people from taking up the habit. The new measures include a drab brownish-green packaging; larger health warnings on 65 per cent of the front and back; a graphic picture at the top of the packet; brand name in a standard typeface; minimum pack size of 20 cigarettes; and no more ‘misleading’ information, like ‘low tar’ or ‘organic’.

Health groups, including Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) have welcomed the measure: “Getting rid of glitzy heavily branded tobacco packs is the latest in a long line of achievements by the UK which is a global leader in tobacco control. We now have among the fastest declining smoking rates in the world thanks to decades of sound policy, but smoking rates among the poorest and most disadvantaged remain high. If this is to change then a priority for the next government must be to publish a new tobacco control plan with tough new targets, focused on tackling health inequalities.”

However smokers' group Forest has claimed the changes ‘infantilise’ consumers and will make no difference to public health.

The UK is the second country in the world to pass legislation on standardised packaging following Australia in 2012, with many others following on including France, Ireland, Hungary and Norway.