Smokers in south Bucks face a startling change when they come to buy cigarettes next week.

From May 20, under the Standardised Packaging Regulations, cigarettes will have to be sold in "plain" green packaging with visual health warnings.

There is a one year transitional period to allow for the sell-through of old stock, meaning that from May 2017 cigarettes and other tobacco products on sale in the UK must comply with the regulations.

Andrew Scott Clark, Chair of the Southeast Public Health Tobacco Control Network, said: “We believe that the introduction of standardised packaging is an important step in consolidating the Government’s clear commitment to public health which will bring considerable public health benefits, in particular to young people.

"We know that most smokers become addicted before they turn 18, and so it is imperative that we do all we can to reduce smoking uptake amongst young people if we are to make a sustained impact on smoking rates in the UK over the longer term."

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of stop-smoking group ASH, said: “This is a momentous day for public health.

"Hundreds of children start smoking every day and for too long tobacco companies have used bright and glamourous packets to attract children to a deadly addiction which claims almost 100,000 lives in the UK every year.”