Federal and state governments are investigating a tobacco-and-gift franchiser for offering give-away covers that allow customers to hide gruesome graphics covering most of their cigarette packs, the Canberra Times reported.

Tobacco Station Group, with more than 300 stores nationally, began offering the covers after plain-pack legislation increased the size of graphic warnings and mandated an olive-brown colour on packs of all cigarettes sold in Australia. The covers feature Tobacco Station colours and website address, the newspaper reported.
Plain-packs have been law since December, when a sticker manufacturing company introduced wraps for cigarette packs that can be applied after a customer makes a cigarette purchase. A federal government investigation concluded the wraps were legal, according to the Times.
In the state of Victoria, a 1987 law prohibits giveaways in conjunction with purchases of tobacco products, the newspaper said on its website. The state government has launched its own investigation, the Times reported. (pi)