Ten years after setting a trend with its workplace smoking ban, Ireland is pushing ahead to be the first EU state with plain packaging for cigarettes, despite fierce opposition from tobacco companies.

As part of Dublin's plan to make Ireland a smoke-free society by 2025 - meaning a prevalence rate of under 5 percent - lawmakers will vote to introduce plain packaging in the new year.

Under the draft legislation before parliament, all forms of branding, including logos and colors, would be banned and all products would have uniform packaging with graphic health warnings.