New and stricter packaging rules have come into force in the United Kingdom today according to which cigarettes and tobacco must be sold in plain green packets and carry prominent and graphic health warnings.
The rules, a fresh bid to put people off smoking, also end the sale of smaller packets of 10 cigarettes.
The greenish-brown colour for packaging has been described by some experts as "the ugliest colour in the world".
Similar restrictions will apply to e-cigarettes and packets of rolling tobacco too.
There will also be a ban on flavoured cigarettes and tobacco.
The UK-wide move is believed to lead to 300,000 fewer smokers in the UK over the next year, a review has suggested.
The Cochrane Review team, led by researchers from London and Oxford, estimated that the number of people who smoked in the UK could go down by 0.5 per cent by May 2018, although they said the current evidence was limited.
The findings were backed up by a report from the Australian government, which showed a similar drop in smoking prevalence - 0.55 per cent - following the introduction of plain packaging there in 2012.
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