Senator Andrew Green signed a ministerial decision which means that it is likely that the Island will follow the lead of other jurisdictions already enforcing similar laws, such as Australia, the UK and France.
Under the proposals the Island would introduce the new regulations alongside Guernsey, which shares the same tobacco suppliers as Jersey.
Senator Green said: ‘This is a change in regulation so it could be introduced within six weeks once the laws have been drawn up.
‘What we will be doing differently to the UK and other countries who have introduced this is plugging some of the loopholes that they left open.
‘Although all packets in the UK have to be plain and come with a health warning, some come with round edges and in slightly different shapes. That will not be allowed in Jersey.’
Senator Green added that he wanted to concentrate on stopping people from taking up smoking rather than helping them quit.
He said: ‘The main objective of this is to create a smoke-free generation – we are very close to that. One thing that tempts children into smoking is the packaging which can sometimes be conceived as cool.
‘We are essentially removing the “coolness” from it and specifically targeting younger people. However, we have to be fair to the industry and we will need to let them use up their existing stocks first.’
