BY October smoking in private cars while carrying children looks set to be outlawed.

Alongside that, plans to introduce standardised packaging with mandatory colours and specific text on cigarette and tobacco packets could be considered in a pre-election Commons vote.

These latest regulations are among moves to make smoking less attractive and to discourage young people in particular.

Moves have already been made to keep cigarettes and tobacco out of sight. In April 2012 rules were introduced banning cigarette and tobacco displays in supermarkets. Since then they have been obscured behind cupboard doors.

Now, in an unusual move, Public Health Minister Jane Ellison revealed in a Commons adjournment debate that the Government would table regulations to enforce standardised packaging in England by May 2016.

The potential dangers smoking can have on health are already acknowledged. According to Cancer Research UK, smoking causes more than four in five cases of lung cancer and can also increase the risk of 13 other cancers including cancers of the larynx (voice box), oesophagus (gullet), mouth and pharynx (throat), bladder, pancreas, kidney, liver, stomach, bowel, cervix, ovary, nose and sinus, and some types of leukaemia. There is also some evidence that smoking could increase the risk of breast cancer.

Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, says: "We applaud the Government for taking this big step towards getting plain, standardised cigarette packs on the shelves and protecting children from tobacco marketing.

"Two-thirds of smokers start before the age of 18, beginning an addiction which will kill half of them if they become long-term smokers. By stripping cigarette packs of their marketing features, we can reduce the number of young people lured into an addiction, the products of which are death and disease."

In Bradford, smokers have already made positive strides to quit. Figures from the Stoptober campaign - a 28-day challenge designed to encourage more people to stub it out for that period - and hopefully for good - show that more than 1,750 smokers throughout the city and district gave up smoking during the campaign. Collectively, they were among 250,000 people countrywide.

Latest statistics from Public Health England reveal that smoking in the district now accounts for 22.6 per cent of the population in 2013 - down from 22.8 per cent in 2012.

And indications reveal that more people are attempting to quit this month - a time when people traditionally make New Year's resolutions.

Ralph Saunders, head of public health for Bradford Council, says: "Bradford Council welcomes anything that reduces the number of people smoking in Bradford, particularly young people, as we work towards creating a smoke free generation in the future.

"Fewer young people than ever are starting to smoke and further action will have an impact on the district’s health as cigarettes kill one in every two long-term smokers.

"There is no safe level for smoking, particularly in cars. Research has found that a single cigarette smoked in a moving car can produce seven times higher than in a smoky bar.

"Exposure to secondhand smoke by children can and increases the risk of cot death, glue ear, asthma and other respiratory diseases.

"From 1 October, 2015, it will be illegal to smoke in a car with someone in the vehicle under the age of 18.

"Smokers are more likely to stop if they receive professional support rather than relying on will power alone. Bradford Council’s stop smoking service can help people wanting to quit by calling 01274 437700."

One smoker, who wishes to remain anonymous, says while she can appreciate the law banning smoking in cars carrying children, she doesn't think the introduction of standardised packaging will make a difference.

"I have a teenage daughter and I know she smokes when she goes out and that is nothing to do with the packaging. If they are going to do it they are going to do it. I cannot see if making a difference but you never know until they try it," says the 39-year-old from Bradford.

Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Dame Sally Davies, says: "I have reviewed all the evidence, and agree that standardised packaging would be a positive move for public health, particularly the role it could play in helping to prevent the uptake of smoking by children.

"We have seen smoking rates decline, but smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable mortality... we need to keep up our efforts on tobacco control and standardised packaging is an important part of that."

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