Britain's parliament has approved legislation to ban branding on cigarette packs, drawing immediate threats of legal action from the country's $38 billion tobacco industry.

The measure is aimed at improving public health and cutting the number of child smokers, and is likely to crimp tobacco company profits.

The legislation follows the lead of Australia, which in 2012 was the first country to enact a law forcing cigarettes to be sold in plain, olive-green packaging with images showing the damaging effects of smoking.

British lawmakers effectively ended years of political debate, private lobbying and public consultation by passing the legislation by a margin of 367 votes to 113.

"We want all children in our country to grow up free from the burden of disease that tobacco brings," public health minister Jane Ellison said in a statement.

She said the legislation should come into force by May 2016.

The proposal must still be debated and passed by the upper house of parliament before becoming law.

Tobacco industry threatens legal challenges against legislation

British American Tobacco said it anticipated launching a legal challenge within 30 days of the legislation's final approval.

"We've been forced into a position where they're going to be taking our property, so we will bring a legal challenge," corporate and regulatory affairs head Jerome Abelman said.

Imperial Tobacco Group said if the measure became law, the firm would be "left with no choice but to defend our legal rights in court".

Japan Tobacco International said it expected to challenge the legislation and Philip Morris International said it was prepared to seek compensation.

The new rules would initially take effect in England only, though the Welsh government has said it would follow suit and Northern Ireland and Scotland were considering a similar step.

Tobacco is responsible for 6 million deaths a year globally and the World Health Organisation estimates the number could rise beyond 8 million by 2030.

As well as causing cancer and other chronic respiratory conditions, smoking is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, the world's number one killer.

"Standard packs will help reduce the number of lives blighted by this lethal product and help us move towards a tobacco-free generation," Cancer Research UK chief executive Harpal Kumar said.

A YouGov opinion poll conducted in February showed 72 per cent of the British public supported plain packaging, with 15 per cent objecting to such proposals.

Tobacco firms have fiercely resisted the legislation, saying plain pack laws, which will also force product names to be printed in standardised fonts, infringe intellectual property rights covering brands and will increase counterfeiting and smuggling.

Reuters