in australia cigarettes already have plain packagingplain packaging for all tobacco products is on the way in ireland but it is already the norm in australia.a new study now says smokers&39 support for plain packaging of tobacco products rose sharply after they were introduced in australia.initial scepticism about plain packs faded amongst smokers and the more supportive a person was, the more likely they were to try quitting, researchers reported in tobacco control.plain packaging for tobacco products was fully implemented in australia on december 1, 2012 along with larger graphic health warnings. the new packs had to have branding and trademarks removed except for allowing the brand name in a standard font on the pack as well as large health warnings.it is difficult to know whether the implementation of standardised packaging led to increased support for this packaging and greater interest in quitting.an international team of researchers from australia, the uk, usa and canada, therefore set out to examine attitudes to the new packs before and after implementation, predictors of change in attitudes, and the relationship between support and quitting activity.analysis of the results showed that support for plain packs increased significantly after they were implemented, rising from 28.2pc preimplementation to 49pc. advertisementthis meant that after the introduction of plain packs, more smokers were supportive of them than were opposed 49pc compared to 34.7pc.those people with a stronger desire to quit were more likely to be supportive of plain packs, as were those who were rated low on a heavysmoking index, and those who believed they were at high risk of future smokingrelated harms.opposition to the plain packs mainly came from those people who smoked heavily and those who underestimated the risks, said the researchers, who also found that support was also associated with higher levels of quitting activity.the authors said their findings indicated it was likely that the implementation of such a policy elsewhere would come to be accepted by smokers in other countries such as ireland.health & living 
