The lung cancer costs in Australia have been staggering. And, while I'm sure they are aware of it I don't know it influenced the decision, the branding logos do play a part. I'll explain...

When Marlboro was testing packaging, they used plain white boxes with various logos on other boxes and asked smokers to sample one of each. The wedge thingie won out. They were all the same cigarettes in all of the boxes, but people claimed the ones in the wedge-logo boxes tasted better. That's how they picked the design.

Think about it. Who doesn't recognize the double crotches? How about Bob's Big Boy? $tarbuck$ anyone? How about rMoney's "Aquafresh" logo? This shit sticks with people and they buy based on the logos. By stripping them from the package, it levels the playing field. I was a hard-core smoker from about '78 until I quit in '85. I'm not evangelical about it by any means, but I know personally that it DOES fuck with your health. My wife doesn't smoke, never has (well, other than pot) and none of my kids do. This is a very positive step for Australia and one that I hope other countries adopt. Don't expect it in the US at a theater near you.