Forcing tobacco companies to use generic packaging will not make it easier for the illicit trade in counterfeit cigarettes to prosper, Health Minister James Reilly has insisted.

Plain pack cigarettes will mean fewer child smokers, two leading anti-smoking charities have claimed.

Anything that can be done to discourage people from smoking is to be welcomed. Anything that can be done to try to help smokers break their self-destructive habit is to be encouraged.