UK's Department of Health has deferred a deadline for receiving responses for its consultations for the plain packaging for tobacco products.

Ministers in the UK are discussion if they should introduce a law making it mandatory for the tobacco manufacturers to have a plain packing for products without any attractive images or fonts. Public health minister Anne Milton said that the closing data for sending comments have been extended to August 10th 2012.

She said that the data has been extended to make sure that everyone who wants to contribute to the consultations, are able to do so. She pointed out that the authorities have already received thousands of responses to the consultations. The move is to prevent tobacco manufacturers from using attractive packing to encourage people for taking up smoking.

She said, "Health ministers across the UK have a responsibility to look at initiatives that may help to reduce the number of young people taking up smoking and assist existing smokers who are trying to quit. We have an open mind about the introduction of standard packing and want to take full account of all views on the possible benefits and disadvantages of action in this area."