As a non-smoker I may have been a little blasé about the TPD regulation that says cigarette packs must contain at least 20 cigarettes and roll your own (hand rolled) tobacco packs must weigh at least 30 grams.

I've made all the right noises – stressing the impact on low paid smokers who don't have enough money in their pocket for a packet of 20, or the effect it will have on those who are trying to reduce their consumption.

But I hadn't really grasped the size of the problem (no pun intended). Until yesterday.

Our village shop offers a choice of twelve packs of cigarettes. There are a number of brands in various pack sizes.

There's also a choice of rolling tobacco in three sizes (seven pouches in total).

Each pack and pouch is listed, with the price, on the sliding door behind the counter.

What struck me, when I looked at the list yesterday, is that only one of the packs contained 20 cigarettes. The rest had 10, 14, 18 or 19.

Only one of the seven pouches of rolling tobacco was in excess of 30 grams.

In other words, after the new regulation has been fully implemented by May 20 next year all but two of those 19 packs and pouches will be outlawed.

Cigarettes and hand rolled tobacco will still be on sale but consumer choice, based (I assume) on customer demand, will have taken a hell of a beating.