Plain cigarette packaging laws to go through before May

The government has finally decided to introduce new laws on plain cigarette packaging before the General Election in May.

Public health minister Jane Ellison announced the move, which will make all cigarette packs uniform in size, shape and design with large picture health warnings.

In what The Guardian describes as "an unusual move", Ellison said the new regulations would be laid before parliament in time to be agreed by both Houses before the election. Cross-party support for the measure suggests it is almost certain to pass.

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"We cannot be complacent," she told MPs. "We all know the damage smoking does to health. This government is completely committed to protecting children from the harm that tobacco causes."

According to the public health minister, almost 80,000 people in England alone die every year from ill health related to smoking.

"It places an enormous strain on the NHS and holds us back in the battle against cancer. Most smokers start young and we want our children to grow up free from the burden of disease that tobacco brings," she said.

The announcement comes after years of delay and disputes about the success of a similar Australian scheme.

Australia's Daily Telegraph reported last week that tobacco and cigarette spending had fallen by 7.3 per cent since plain packaging was introduced in December 2012. But others continue to argue that smoking rates were falling anyway and that other factors, such as tax increases, are at play.

In The Spectator, Isabel Hardman describes the government's decision as a "sort of U-turn" that is in fact a "rotation through 360 degrees", as the original position had been in favour of plain packaging, which was then reversed in 2013.

The Conservatives have "wobbled" over the issue as the government examined the evidence – a delay described as "inexcusable" by Labour. "It certainly couldn't be delayed any longer for political reasons," says Hardman. "A row about cigarettes is one thing the Tories could do without when they're supposed to be gabbling on non-stop about the economy."