Public health experts in Britain have long advocated for tighter controls on the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products, often citing the decline in Australia's smoking rate as proof that plain packaging works.

A study by the Department of Health found that as a result of the plain packaging laws, there were 108,228 fewer smokers in Australia in the period between December 2012 and September 2015.

Even after controlling for a range of variables, including excise tax increases, and socio-demographic factors, the researchers still pointed to plain packaging and graphic health warnings as the reason why more than 100,000 Australians were able to kick the habit.

The Cochrane Review team, led by researchers from London and Oxford, said if the results seen in Australia were to be replicated in Britain, then the country could see 300,000 fewer smokers by May 2018.

A reduction in the perceived attractiveness and appeal of cigarette packs due to plain packaging laws outweighed other tobacco control measurers, including the ban on smoking in public spaces and the rising cost of cigarettes, the researchers said.

The new measures, which took effect on Saturday, will ban "misleading" information, like "low tar" or "organic" and force companies to display health warnings on 65 per cent of the front and back of the packet.

Brand names must be written in a standard typeface and a graphic picture has to be featured at the top of the packet.

But the bold move by Britain's government has attracted some resistance.

Simon Clark, the director of Forest, a smokers' group, told the BBC that the changes would "infantilise consumers".

"Adults and even teenagers are under no illusions about the health risks of smoking," he said, adding that the new rules are designed to "treat adults like naughty children".

"Consumers don't need larger health warnings to tell them what they already know", Mr Clark said.

Anti-smoking campaigners have welcomed the changes, dismissing concerns from smokers that the changes are too intrusive.

Author of the review, Professor Cecily Kelleher, from University College, Dublin, said the evidence "provides more robust support for the previous conclusions that the introduction of a legislative smoking ban does lead to improved health outcomes".

"There is evidence that countries and their populations benefit from improved health after introducing smoking bans, importantly to do with the heart and blood vessels", Professor Kelleher said.

However the authors acknowledged that current research is limited, noting that legislative bans have not yet been evaluated by randomised trials.

The new British laws come in the wake of a landmark ruling by the World Trade Organisation earlier this month.

After a five-year legal battle, the WTO upheld Australia's restrictive tobacco packaging, paving the way for other countries to introduce similar laws.