Plain packaging is reducing the appeal of cigarettes with youth and has not led to an increase in consumption of illicit “cheap whites”, according to what Cancer Council Victoria bills as the first comprehensive evaluation.

A series of 14 peer-reviewed papers published in a supplement to the British Medical Journal examine various aspects of the tobacco products packaging law that took effect in December, 2012, the Cancer Council said.
"These results should give confidence to countries considering plain packaging that plain packs not only reduce appeal of tobacco products and increase the effectiveness of health warnings but also diminish the tobacco industry's ability to use packs to mislead consumers about the harms of smoking," said Prof Melanie Wakefield of the Cancer Council, whose team led the evaluation.