The Australian government has unveiled plans to force tobacco companies to print brand names in a small, uniform font, while packets will be a dull olive green - a colour the government believes consumers will hate.

The UK Independence Party said MSPs should be replaced at Holyrood by Westminster MPs with constituencies in Scotland. It also wants to scrap the smoking ban.

British American Tobacco confirmed today that it has established a company that will focus exclusively on the "development and commercialisation of innovative regulatory approved nicotine products".

Currently on a charity walk in the North Pole, Prince Harry, third in line to the throne, has been photographed smoking. And not just any old cigarette. He took his own stash. Allegedly.

An apartment block in Sydney has made history by becoming the first residential building in Australia to ban smoking inside all residents' homes. Advocates say it could be the way of the future for high-density living.

On the seventh anniversary of the Irish smoking ban, Forest Eireann has urged the new government to amend the ban to bring Ireland into line with European countries such as Holland, Belgium and Denmark and “help save the Irish pub”.

Smokers’ lobby group Forest has called for amendments to the smoking ban in Scotland ahead of the fifth anniversary of its introduction. The group wants pubs and clubs to have the option of separate, well-ventilated smoking rooms.

Smokers’ lobby group Forest has called for amendments to the smoking ban in Scotland ahead of the fifth anniversary of its introduction. The group wants pubs and clubs to have the option of separate, well-ventilated smoking rooms.

Simon Clark, director of Forest, has criticised the Chancellor’s decision to increase tobacco duty by two per cent above inflation, arguing that it penalises "law-abiding consumers".