Tower Hamlets Council is backing campaigns which call for Parliament to have a free vote on standardised packaging of cigarettes and other tobacco product after the Government decided it will not introduce legislation to enforce it.
Council research shows that in Tower Hamlets two thirds of smokers start as teenagers. The earlier people start smoking, the longer they smoke and therefore it is harder to give up. In the UK, more than 200,000 people under the age of 16 start to smoke every year.
Mayor Lutfur Rahman 