Branding and logos on cigarette packets could be banned under Government proposals to cut smoking.
Tougher controls including plain packaging, minimum pack sizes of 20 and a ban on the advertising of cigarette papers are all under consideration by the Department of Health (DoH).
The department has released a consultation document called "The Future of Tobacco Control" with the aim of cutting smoking rates and preventing young people from picking up the habit. The proposals include removing branding and logos from all tobacco packaging and having a minimum pack size of 20 to stop young people who can only afford packs of 10 from buying cigarettes.
Other measures include restricting the display of tobacco products by placing them under shop counters, banning cigarette vending machines or restricting them to adults only, and banning the advertising of smoking paraphernalia such as cigarette papers.
More than 200,000 under-16's start smoking each year and are three times more likely to die of cancer than someone who starts in their mid-20s, according to government figures.
Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said: "Protecting children from smoking is a Government priority and taking away temptation is one way to do this.
"If banning brightly-coloured packets, removing cigarettes from display and removing the cheap option of a pack of ten helps save lives, then that is what we should do, but we want to hear everyone's views first."
The consultation, published to coincide with World No Tobacco Day, aims to protect children and young people from smoking, reduce smoking rates and health inequalities caused by smoking and help people quit.
Recent statistics showed a 2% drop in smokers in Britain, down from 24%, while NHS Stop Smoking Services had seen a 28% increase in people attempting to quit since Smokefree legislation was introduced in July last year.
Simon Clark, director of the smokers' lobby group Forest, said: "The best way to tackle youth smoking is through education and proper enforcement of the legal age limit. Banning point of sale display will make smoking even more attractive to teenagers. Worse, it will drive many smokers towards cheaper counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes."
