In December 2012, Australia became the first nation in the world to require all tobacco products to be sold in standard ‘plain’ packs under the leadership of the then Health Minister Nicola Roxon. Tobacco companies have had global apoplexy about the law. Humiliated in the Australian High Court with a six-one defeat, their hopes now rest with deterring other nations from following suit by pursuing international trade law action.

With a combined 50 years of research and advocacy experience in tobacco control, Simon Chapman and Becky Freeman set out the evidence for the importance of plain packaging in striking at the heart of what remains of tobacco advertising. They examine the history of the idea, the tobacco industry’s frantic efforts to derail it, and the early evidence for its impact. Most importantly, they give tools to policy makers in other countries wanting to make the best case for plain packaging and to defend it from the inevitable attacks that will follow.