Cigarette packets will lose their colour and logos, while the size of graphic health warnings on the dangers of smoking will be increased from January 1 next year when the Gillard Government's new plain packaging policy is officially introduced.
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Legislation permitting the packaging changes passed through Federal Parliament last week with the support of Opposition and cross bench members.
Anti-smoking groups and health experts have welcomed the changes while the tobacco industry claims it will achieve nothing and is pursuing a campaign asking smokers to reject the changes that says makes us a "nanny state".
Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says the changes are a world first and will remove the last remaining form of tobacco advertising in Australia.
"We know that packaging is a very powerful marketing tool for tobacco companies to recruit new smokers to their deadly products," she said.
"In the future, cigarette packets will now only serve as a stark reminder of the devastating health effects of smoking."
"Big tobacco is vigorously fighting against this legislation for one very simple reason - because they know, as we do, that it will work. While they are fighting to protect their profits, we are fighting to protect lives."
Member for Calare John Cobb supported the legislation but said if cigarettes were legal and people the age over 18 wanted to buy them the government should just "get over it".
"The conundrum I have in this debate is that, if this is so bad that we are going to risk trademark rights, intellectual rights and treaty rights, and bring all these legal issues up?if smoking is so bad that we are willing to do that?why not just ban it?" he said in parliament last week.
"If, however, it is not, why are we so concerned with taking away the right or the ability of an adult to make their own decisions?"
Minister Roxon said she welcomed the Coalition's support of the legislation, after they were "dragged kicking and screaming".
"We were also told by the Opposition there was 'no credible argument' for plain packaging, despite all MP's... receiving letters from 260 professors of health and medicine urging MP's to support plain packaging," she said.
"The stark reality is some 15,000 people die each year from this deadly product. That's 15,000 people who don't get to see their son or daughter married, or their first grandchild born.
Director of the Centre of Inland Health at Charles Sturt University, Tony Kolbe, welcomed the plain packaging changes and said he believed it was the right thing to do.
"Plain packaging makes cigarette packages less attractive and provides for better effectiveness of health warnings," the public health advocate said.
