Smokers find cigarettes in plain packages less appealing, Cancer Council study reveals Images on cigarette packets as part of plain packaging legislation. CIGARETTES from plain packs are deemed to be less satisfying and of lower quality to smokers, according to a study of Australias new packaging laws. Research into the impact of plain cigarette packaging regulations indicate the change is lowing the appeal of smoking and providing more urgency to quit. The Victorian study, undertaken by the Cancer Council and published in the BMJ Open Journal, found more than a third of smokers believed their cigarette's were of lower quality than they were a year earlier. The number reporting a lower satisfaction from their cigarettes also jumped from less than 15 per cent to more than 30 per cent within three weeks of the plain packaging rollout, however it dropped down to 25 per cent after a month. Since September 1 2012 tobacco products can only be sold in Australia in dark brown packs with three-quarters of their front covered by graphic health warnings. Quit Victoria acting CEO Kylie Lindorff said the study of 536 Victoria smokers shows those smoking cigarette's from the new packs were more likely to make quitting a priority in their lives than those using the old packs. The larger graphic health warnings, which now cover almost the entire front of the pack, make it almost impossible for smokers to ignore the devastating harms of smoking. The promise of what is to come for 1 in 2 long term smokers is pictured on the pack," Ms Lindorff said. Cancer Council Victoria CEO Todd Harper said the research should encourage other countries to follow Australia's lead, despite the UK recently abandoning its plans for plain packaging.