Smoking: Ten pack cigarette BAN comes in on 21 May with plain packaging rule enforced

The new law is being introduced in the hope it will deter young people from taking up smoking.

From 21 May, shops will be banned from selling small bags of rolling tobacco and 10-packs of cigarettes, meaning the cheapest packet will cost £8.82.

This comes one year after the start of a transitional period during which cigarette manufacturers were ordered to stop producing 10-packs and packs without standardised, plain designs in May 2016.

Fruity-flavoured cigarettes and flavours including vanilla, spices and sweets are also banned by the new law.

The law does not cover menthol cigarettes, which are being phased out more slowly and will no longer be on shelves by May 2020.

The minty taste us said to make them more attractive to first-time smokers. Campaigners have said the Government initiative will prevent younger smokers from buying cigarettes as they tend to have less money. Cancer Research states two thirds of smokers start before the age of 18.

Hazel Cheeseman, director of policy at the charity Action on Smoking and Health, spoke to The Independent and said: “There’s a great deal of evidence in the UK and around the world that price is the most effective mechanism to reduce consumption of tobacco.

“It has a greater effect on younger people and those in low incomes, as for obvious reasons, they’re more sensitive to price.

“Younger people are less likely to be addicted to nicotine than long-term smokers, so it has a greater effect on them. Although the price of a stick will be similar, it will cost a lot more for a pack.”

Rolling tobacco packs are also changing in size – they are currently available in packs of 10 and 20 grams but from 21 May will only be sold in packs of 30g.

Health warnings must cover 65 per cent of the front and back of the packaging of cigarettes and rolling tobacco, with promotional words such as “lite”, “natural” and “organic” no longer allowed.

Since May 2016, advertising, promotion or sponsorship of electronic cigarettes has been banned on most media platforms, including the internet, TV and radio.

British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International filed lawsuits against Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt over the rules last year.

They argued the regulations were “disproportionate” and violated a number of UK and EU laws as well as destroying valuable property rights.

However the tobacco giants’ challenge was overturned the day before the branded packaging ban was implemented and was also later later rejected in the Court of Appeal.

The decisions to end attractively branded cigarette packets was pioneered by Australia in 2012, and has now been taken up by France and Ireland too.

One in five adults smokes in the UK and smoking costs the NHS £2.7 billion each year, according to the British Medical Association.