Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon today released draft legislation that is to prevent people being attracted to smoking and unveiled a mock-up of the proposed plain packaging.

The Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 requires health warnings and graphic pictures depicting the dangers of smoking to make up the majority of a cigarette pack – 90 per cent of the back of the pack and about 75 per cent of the front of the pack.
The pack itself would be matte olive green, and the brand name would appear on the front of the pack in a standard font size and style.
"The new packs have been designed to have the lowest appeal to smokers," Roxon said. Apparently the government considers olive green the least attractive colour for smokers, particularly for young people.
Cigarette manufacturers would be permitted to include certain anti-counterfeiting design features such as alphanumeric code markings on either the bottom or side of a pack.
The law is expected to go before parliament later this year, during the winter sitting. According to The Australian, the opposition refuses to endorse plain cigarette packaging saying it will examine the details of proposed legislation before deciding whether to support the change.
If passed, the law would be phased in over six months, starting in January 2012.
British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) says it will launch a court challenge against the proposed plain-packaging legislation, saying it would unfairly deprive tobacco companies of their intellectual property rights and drive up sales of illegal cigarettes.
The legality of the measures and whether it violates trademark laws is a matter of debate among experts. (pi)