WIREDGOV

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chair of the LGA's Community Wellbeing Board responded to MPs voting in favour of standardised cigarette packs.

"While it may not impact existing smokers, we know that four in five smokers start when they are just children. Ensuring cigarettes are sold in standardised plain packaging is the next logical step in stopping children taking up a habit that takes 80,000 lives a year and costs taxpayers an estimated £5.2 billion. 

"We see this as the next step after making cigarettes an age-restricted product, the removal of easy access to self-service dispensing machines, and the recent 'cover-up' in large stores".