Just as the seasoned smokers had almost recovered from the ignominy of being cast out into the cold, excluded from public buildings and prevented from lighting up in pubs and restaurants, a new assault is about to begin against their habit.

From 21st May 2017, they will no longer be able to buy cigarettes in packs of 10, or roll-your-own tobacco in packs of 10gm or 20gm. As Cancer Research has found that approximately 2/3 of smokers begin smoking before they are 18, the fact that the impecunious young will be affected is not seen as a bad thing.

In England, the percentage of adults who smoked has reduced from 46% in 1974 to 19% (Health and Social Care Information Centre report, May 2016). In 2014/15, 1.7M hospital admissions were potentially smoking-related.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that in America, one in five deaths is attributable to smoking-related disease; Smoking reduces average life expectancy by in the region of 10 years, and stopping smoking before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoke-related disease by approximately 90%.

The changes in packaging will also be enforced from 21st May, so no longer will colour coding imply tar levels or brands – the imagery on the packets will be of unpleasant images of suffering, designed to convince the visually literate that it is a really bad idea to light up!