The Australian government should make a bigger push to make the plain packaging of cigarettes uglier to cut the country's smoking rate. A study released on Monday found that more Aussies are thinking of quitting their nicotine habit not because of fear of acquiring lung cancer as the images and words on the cigarette packaging warn, but due to the ugliness of the wrapper.

The ugly look is equated by smokers of poorer quality and less satisfying taste, said a study of 536 smoking addicts. The research was funded by the Cancer Council Victoria in November when the plain pack legislation started to be rolled out and when branded packs were still on the market.

The survey found 30.6 per cent of smokers believe their cigarettes had lower quality due to the plain packaging compared to only 18.1 per cent who had similar thoughts of their branded smoke.

Another 26.2 per cent said they were not satisfied with their cigarettes that came in plain packs, causing them to entertain the thought at least once a day of giving up the bad habit. About 70 per cent of them planned to do so in the next six months.

"The results are really encouraging. They are consistent with the objectives of the plain packaging act," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Kylie Lindorff, acting executive director of Quit Victoria.

Australia was the first country to put in place tough packaging laws that prohibited branding and mandated that 75 per cent of the cigarette package must be made up of graphic health warning.

"Plain packaging of tobacco is as much about stopping our kids from taking up smoking as it is about encouraging existing smokers to quit," Health Minister Tanya Pilbersek said.

The study was published in the British Medical Journal Open on Monday. Ironically, Britain did not push through with the passage of plain packaging laws because of lack of evidence that such a strategy works.

RELATED STORIES