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Australia is very keen in ousting smoking in the country. After successfully mandating plain packaging for tobacco products, Australia is also continuously increasing taxes for cigarettes and other tobacco products. In the future, a pack of cigarettes may cost as high as AUD$40.

BBC reports that smoking is indeed difficult in Australia. It is now the first country who has implemented a mandatory plain packaging for tobacco products, a move that is being trailed by the United Kingdom. Smoking bans are also being instigated in workplaces, restaurants, and bars.

At present, smoking is also prohibited within 10m of a playground and 4m of the entrance of public buildings, rail platforms, bus stops and taxi ranks.

Cigarette boxes are now in plain, dark brown color and carry no logos. Instead, they feature graphic health warnings pertaining to cigarette smoking. Throats sliced open, holes in the neck and a brain sliced open are just a few of the graphically intricate designs featured in the cigarette packaging approved by the government.

All states in Australia also ban smoking inside vehicles with children inside. Several states also ban the use of cigarettes in prison as well as in beaches. Strict implementation of these mandates also includes a fine of AUD$2,000 if you are caught smoking in prohibited areas. By the year 2020, Australians must pay for AUD$40 per cigarette pack with the increasing tax rates being implemented to tobacco products.

Similar news from Business Today reveals that in India, tax on tobacco products are also going up at a fast momentum as the government grows more conscious of keeping the public safe and away from the effects of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Tax duties have already increased between 11 to 72 percent following another 10 percent increase from 2014 to 2016.

Australia has been a pioneer when it comes to anti-smoking policies. They have already banned tobacco products and now, the government has also banned tobacco products branding, all in the span of five years.