An Australian state is considering a ban on cigarette sales to anyone born after the year 2000 in an initiative to create a “tobacco-free generation”.

The island of Tasmania has been asked to support the novel scheme under a motion unanimously approved by the state’s council.

The move came just days after the Australian government won its legal fight to introduce plain packaging to help curb smoking rates.

Under the proposal, Tasmania would lift the age at which people can legally buy cigarettes,  currently 18, each year by a year.

Australia already prohibits smoking in restaurants, bars and most other indoor spaces, but the national government has said it has no plans to ban it altogether.

From December, tobacco products will have to be sold in drab, uniform packaging with graphic health warnings after global cigarette firms lost a constitutional challenge against the world-first plan.

The World Health Organization has welcomed the introduction of the plain packets law and expressed hope for a “domino effect” for countries elsewhere