The Government is to fast-track legislation to introduce ‘plain’ packaging for cigarettes by 2016. After a series of public consultations on the issue, MPs will be asked to vote on the plan before the General Election.

Credit: ©dvarg/iStock/Thinkstock

The Stirling Review published in April 2014 - an independent review of public health evidence for standardised tobacco packaging - found that standardised packaging is less appealing than branded packaging; that graphic and text health warnings are more credible and memorable on standardised packaging; and that products in standardised packages are more likely to be perceived as harmful than those in branded packaging with colours and descriptors.