The latest investigation by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission reveals that plain packaging laws, introduced in late 2012 and designed to make tobacco products unattractive by replacing branding and trademarks with generic font and a drab colour, have failed to achieve their aim of reducing smoking in Australia.

ACIC found that compound levels in population-wide samples of wastewater across all major capital cities and tested regions in 2016-17, showed a rise in nicotine consumption.