Wellington, Newzealand,a new plain packaging for tobacco products will be introduced by joining a growing list of countries planning similar measures despite the threat of legal action from the industry, said, New Zealand.

The move, which coincides with World No Tobacco Day, means cigarettes must be sold in boxes plastered with health warnings and gruesome pictures of smoking-related disease.

"The measure targeted one of the most powerful tools used to get young people hooked on tobacco.Twelve New Zealanders die prematurely every day from smoking-related illnesses - each of these deaths is preventable", said, Associate Health Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga.

The lawsuit failed last December and since then a number of countries, including Britain and France, have passed legislation on the issue.

Numerous other countries, including Canada, Singapore, Belgium and South Africa have announced plans to follow suit, according to data from the Canadian Cancer Council.

"Get Ready For Plain Packaging" slogan has been made by World Health Organisation (WHO) on this year's World No Tobacco Day.

British American Tobacco NZ said it remained "strongly opposed" to plain packaging and reserved the right to take legal action.