Come December this year, cigarettes in Australian stores will be sold in drab and plain packaging following the High Court's affirmation on Wednesday that the legislation passed by the Parliament in 2011 did not contravene the constitution.

In a majority decision, details of which will be published soon based on media reports, High Court justices dismissed the claims by giant tobacco firms that their intellectual trademarks would be effectively acquired by the Australian government once the new laws roll out later this year.

The court favoured the arguments presented by Commonwealth Solicitor-General Stephen Gageler, who told the justices that Canberra does not intend to takeover anything from the cigarette manufacturers - named in the suit as British American Tobacco Australia (BATA), Japan Tobacco International (JTI), Philip Morris International (PMI) and Imperial Tobacco.

The justices also ordered the tobacco firms to pay for the legal cost of the suits, which commenced April 2012.

The exclusive intent of the federal government, according to Mr Gageler, was to implement the laws regulating the sales of tobacco products in Australia and consequently to discourage smoking, which health experts have blamed for a host of deadly medical conditions.

In a statement, Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, who was the head of the Health Ministry when the legislation was first put together by the Gillard Government, called the court decision as a 'proud moment' for federal authorities.

"I want to say that we are proud as a Government for the action that we've taken. We are very pleased that the highest court in Australia has said that the Australian Constitution allows this measure to be introduced," Ms Roxon said.

The ruling also serves as "good news for every Australian parent who worries about their child picking up an addictive and deadly habit," she added.

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek hailed the High Court action as its way of denying tobacco producers to utilise cigarette pack as a form of 'mobile billboards' that promote the habit of smoking, pinpointed by medical doctors as the cause of slow and painful death for millions around the world.

Ms Plibersek offered the 'victory' to "anyone who has lost someone to smoking."

"This is a victory for all of those families who have lost someone to tobacco-related illness," she declared.

And that victory, according to Monash University Professor Mark Davison, was a 'massive' one and should clear the way for Prime Minister Julia Gillard to implement the cigarette plain packaging law without further hindrance or legal challenges.

"The laws will proceed according to the legislation and that means on December 1 this year all retail packaging will comply with the regulation," Prof Davison told ABC in an interview Wednesday morning.

"Clearly, the High Court has decided that there hasn't been an acquisition of property and so the claims by the tobacco industry that Governments are seizing its property are simply untrue," he added.

In a reaction, BATA spokesman Scott McIntyre said his firm is respectful of the High Court decision and will accept the constitutionality of the new laws supporting cigarette plain packaging in Australia.

Mr McIntyre, nonetheless, labelled the 'tobacco law' as a bad one but assured that BATA "would comply with this and every other law."

"We'll ensure our products comply with the plain packaging requirements and implementation dates," the BATA representative told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) on Wednesday.

He reiterated fears earlier voiced out by the tobacco industry that the new laws would only encourage the proliferation of smuggled cigarettes in the country.

"Although the (legislation) passed the constitutional test, it's still a bad law that will only benefit organised crime groups which sell illegal tobacco on our streets," Mr McIntyre warned.

BATA also called on federal authorities to conduct a review on the matter to shed light on government claims "that plain packaging will actually reduce smoking rates."