Standardised cigarette packets designed to put people off smoking are being sold in Oxfordshire's shops just six months after they were required by law.

In May the United Kingdom became the second country, after Australia, to adopt standardised packaging and gave manufacturers up to a year to switch.

The new packs are dark green and have bigger health warnings and prominent graphic pictures.

The packaging is designed to put people off taking up smoking and help smokers quit.

Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for public health Hilary Hibbert-Biles said: "We welcome the introduction of plain packaging and hope to see the numbers of people taking up smoking in Oxfordshire drop in the months to come, especially among younger people.

“We also hope that the hard-hitting warnings and unappealing photographs on the packaging will encourage people that do smoke to think about the health implications, and act as an incentive to quit.”

Australia introduced the packaging in 2012 and a post-implementation review published in March 2016 showed a decline in the volume of tobacco sales and a drop in the number of smokers.

Support to quit smoking is available in Oxfordshire through SmokeFreeLife Oxfordshire, commissioned by the County Council, and also most GP practices and pharmacies.

These services can provide free professional and tailored advice on how to stop smoking and access to the aids, including patches and gum, available on prescription.

SmokeFreeLife Oxfordshire health improvement manager Naseem Mushtaq said: "SmokeFreeLife Oxfordshire are passionate about giving smokers the best possible chance to quit smoking and hope that lots of people motivated by the new packaging come and find out what we can offer by talking to our staff at our clinics across Oxfordshire.

“Not only do we directly supply free nicotine replacement therapy to clients, we also provide motivational and behavioural support to help them in their quit attempt and ultimately empower them to live a healthier lifestyle.”

Social media is being used to report sightings of the new packaging.

Anyone spotting a pack can tweet an image plus its location using the hashtag #trackthepack and add to a ‘Track the Pack Map.’

To track the packs, visit http://bit.ly/TrackPack2025 or tweet to @breathe2025.