UK aims to pass law to ban branding on cigarette packs before May

LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The British government said on Wednesday it would try to pass a law to force tobacco firms to sell cigarettes in plain packets without branding in England before May in order to improve public health and cut the number of child smokers.

"I now propose that we lay regulations for standardised packaging in this parliament to allow for them to come into force at the same time as the European Tobacco Products Directive in May 2016," Jane Ellison, a junior minister in the health ministry, said in a statement.

"In doing so we would be bringing the prospect of our first smoke-free generation one step closer."

The government had previously said it wanted to ban cigarette branding but wanted to conduct a final consultation to make sure it was the right thing to do.

Ellison said the government had now considered all the evidence and decided it was "a proportionate and justified response."

"Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will need to confirm whether they consent to the regulations applying to those parts of the UK," she said. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)