OXFORD researchers say plain cigarette packaging may lead to 300,000 fewer smokers in the UK over the next year.

Experts from the city behind the Cochrane Review say standardised packs could reduce the appeal of tobacco and increase calls to quit helplines.

The review team has estimated that the number of people who smoked could go down by 0.5 per cent by May 2018.

It looked at new evidence from 51 studies, involving 800,000 people, on the impact of standardised packaging on smokers’ attitudes and behaviour.

Professor Ann McNeill, lead review author from King’s College London, said there was evidence that standardised packaging made people less likely to be motivated to smoke and reduced cravings for tobacco.

She added: “It would appear that the impact of standardised packaging may be affected by the detail of the regulations such as whether they ban descriptors, such as ‘smooth’ or ‘gold’ and control the shape of the tobacco pack.”

From May this year new laws will be introduced that will mean smokers cannot buy a packet with less than 20 cigarettes in.

Packets must also have health warnings covering 65 per cent of the front and back of packages and any promotional descriptors such as flavours must be removed.