Cigarette packaging in Australia has changed: Here’s what you need to know

Australia is a world leader in cigarette packaging that shows the real, devastating effects of smoking and values lives over tobacco industry profits.   

From 1 April 2025, a range of new mandatory changes to tobacco products manufactured for sale in Australia came into effect, marking a significant step towards a healthier Australia.   
 
These changes are:   

• Health Warnings on each cigarette stick  

• Updated Graphic Health Warnings on packs  

• Health Promotion Inserts inside packs 

• A ban on menthol in tobacco products.   

The updated images on cigarette packs and on-stick warnings encourage people who smoke to quit, while the health promotion inserts provide information on the benefits of quitting and the support services available, including quit.org.au. 

What are the changes to cigarettes?

Each cigarette must have a health warning printed on the filter. The warnings are easily seen when cigarettes are taken out of the pack and carry evidence-based facts about the risks of smoking, including:  

• CAUSES 16 CANCERS 

• DAMAGES DNA 

• DAMAGES YOUR LUNGS 

• POISON IN EVERY PUFF 

• TOBACCO HARMS CHILDREN 

These health warnings serve to remind people that, while each cigarette can cause harm, each cigarette returned, unused, to the packet can help kick-start a life-changing quit journey.  

Every day, 66 Australians die from smoking-related illness, so it is important to give people who smoke the information to make decisions that will best support their health and the health of the people around them. Australia is only the second country in the world, after Canada, to do this. 

There are new graphic warnings on packs

Tobacco products sold in Australia have new graphic health warnings in different colours printed on packs. Some of these pictures are confronting to look at, because they show the reality of smoking-related disease.  
 
While most people who smoke understand the link between smoking and lung cancer, scientific evidence has shown a link between smoking and many other deadly diseases that can cause pain and suffering. 

The tobacco industry does not choose to share this information about its products, but people deserve to know all the proven risks of smoking. These risks are the basis for new graphic health warnings, including: 

• Even light or social smoking can increase your risk of disease  

• Smoking is a cause of impotence 

• Smoking doubles the risk of developing cervical cancer 

• Secondhand smoke can make children very sick. 

Your ticket to quitting: information cards in every pack

The mandatory changes also mean that every cigarette pack and roll-your-own tobacco pack now contains a card, called a Health Promotion Insert. The cards highlight the benefits of quitting, the small changes that people can make to increase their chances of quitting success, as well as a range of resources available to support people at all stages of their quitting journey. 

The different cards highlight the many reasons to quit, including: 

• Health improves from the very start of a quitting journey 

• Quitting cigarettes frees up cash, with more money to save or spend on other things 

• While quitting isn’t easy, there are different free supports available, from conversations with helpful Quitline counsellors to online resources and the My QuitBuddy app.

Every card enables you to access quitting support directly, either via QR code or URL to quit.org.au or by calling Quitline on 13 7848. 

The end of menthol

The new laws also ban the sale of menthol cigarettes in Australia. Any tobacco products containing certain additives, including menthol, that are used to mask the harshness of cigarette smoke and make cigarettes more addictive, cannot be sold in Australia after 1 July 2025. You can learn about what menthol does when added to tobacco products at The Con That Kills. 

Last updated April 2025