TOWN Hall chiefs at Warrington are hoping that new laws banning the use of colourful, attractive packaging for cigarettes could be in force by May next year.
The borough council has welcomed a parliamentary vote which they believe will mean standardised tobacco package is one step closer.
MPs voted in favour of regulations surrounding its introduction, with 367 voting in favour of the measure and just 113 voting against.
The proposals now have to be considered by the House of Lords for final sign-off.
They would see tobacco packaging stripped of all its attractive promotional aspects, including the colour of the pack and branding.
The measure will make cigarette packs less appealing to children and young people, and also allow the promotion of strong anti-smoking and health messages.
In the North West, four out of five children who try smoking do so before they are 14 years old and around 18,000 children start to smoke each year.
Cllr Pat Wright (pictured), the council’s lead member for health, wellbeing and adult services, said: ““Standardised packaging will remove the attractive, promotional aspects of the existing packaging and allow better promotion of strong anti-smoking and health messages.
This is a victory thanks to the hard work and persistence of all the organisations involved and we will keep fighting to further reduce smoking to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents.”
