A tobacco firm has accused the Government of electioneering by planning to bring into force legislation for plain cigarette packaging before voters go to the polls in May.
Health minister Jane Ellison said the regulations would be laid before Parliament in time to be agreed by both Houses before the general election.
She said the current "comprehensive" approach was working well, but insisted it was important not to be complacent.
The ban on smoking in private cars will come into force on 1 October this year, the minister also announced.
During an adjournment debate in the Commons, Ms Ellison said tobacco caused around 80,000 deaths a year and that around 600 children in the UK take up smoking every day.
She said the Government was committed to reducing the numbers of young people who take up smoking, but had been taking its time to consider all relevant evidence, including the possibility of litigation from the tobacco industry.
Ms Ellison told MPs: "We cannot be complacent. We all know the damage smoking does to health.
"This Government is completely committed to protecting children from the harm that tobacco causes.
"That's why I'm announcing today that we will be bringing forward legislation for standardised packaging before the end of this Parliament."
The idea behind plain packaging, used in Australia for several years, is that it would largely remove branding from packets bar a small, simple product name.
Health warning images would dominate boxes instead.
A spokesperson for London-listed British American Tobacco said: "Let's be clear, this is about election politics.
"The UK Government has short-circuited its own consultation process by rushing this announcement out now.
"This is also a serious error of judgment given the clear evidence from Australia that plain packaging has not achieved any of its public health objectives and has increased illicit trade to its highest level in seven years."
Health groups welcomed Ms Ellison's announcement.
Mike Hobday, director of policy at the British Heart Foundation, said: "We are absolutely delighted. The Government has taken another key step towards securing new legislation that will help protect young people from the deadly consequences of smoking."
Dr Hilary Cass, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "This is a significant piece of legislation - and a real positive step from Government to protect the health of current and future generations of children.
"With two thirds of smokers starting before they are 18, and the effects of packaging on young people well-known, it is a simple yet important reform in the battle against smoking-related illness."
But Christopher Snowdon, director of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, condemned the announcement.
He said: "This is a gross infringement of the right of companies to use their trademarks and design their own packaging.
"There is no need to wonder what will happen next, we need only look at Australia where the black market has grown and youth smoking has risen.
"To pursue this grandstanding policy in spite of the Australian experience is sheer negligence."
The values of tobacco firms weakened when share trading began on Thursday.
Imperial Tobacco - behind the Lambert & Butler and Golden Virginia brands - was 1% down in early trading while BAT, which makes Rothmans, was just 0.2% lower.
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