How clearly has the Australian government thought through its plans to force tobacco companies to sell cigarettes in plain packs? Not clearly enough, according to BAT (no surprises there!), which -  in the absence of any global research into tobacco packaing regulations and, in particular,  the effects of tobacco packaging on consumption - has commissioned Deloittes to do just that.

One of the main conclusions of the report is that, if plain packaging is introduced, an unintended likely consequence will be an increase in the illegal tobacco market and lost tobacco tax revenues (you can download the full report here. No surprises there, either. Cigarettes are among the most highly regulated, highly taxed and highly counterfeited products in the world. Packaging the product in uniform sludge-green packs may or may not have an impact on consumption (although the report suggests not). But it will certainly prove a gift to the counterfeiters.