It’s working ... Eight out of ten smokers say they don’t like the look of their ugly packs of cigarettes. Picture: Supplied. Source: Getty Images

The number of users worried about their smoking has also doubled since plain packs were introduced two years ago, according to the British Medical Journal.

FOLLOWING SUIT: England to introduce plain packs

JOINING THE FIGHT: Ireland set to change cigarette packs

Concerned ... The number of users worried about their smoking has also doubled since plain packs were introduced two years ago. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

And half of all smokers say they support the new packaging.

This follows another Cancer Institute study which reported a 78 per cent increase in calls to Quitline after plain packaging was introduced in December 2012.

And the latest National Drug Strategy Household survey which found the proportion of the adult population smoking had plunged from 15.1 to 12.8 per cent between 2010 and 2013.

In a world first in 2012 Australia made it mandatory for cigarettes to be sold in drab packaging with graphic health warnings covering 90 per cent of the back of the pack and 75 per cent of the front of the pack.

The rules were designed to reduce the appeal of tobacco products, increase the effectiveness of health warnings and reduce the ability of packaging to mislead about the harm smoking causes.

A new study by the Cancer Institute NSW shows the rules are achieving their objectives.

In support ... Half of all smokers approve of the new plain packs. Picture: News Corp. Source: News Corp Australia

“We’re seeing some real changes in the perception of smokers and their quitting behaviour,” says Cancer Institute NSW chief Professor David Currow.

The Cancer Institute’s Tobacco Tracking Survey includes around 15,745 adult smokers (aged 18 years and over) in New South Wales (NSW).

Since 2006 it has been interviewing around 50 people a week about their responses to health warnings on tobacco packs.

It found two to three months after the introduction of plain packaging there was a significant increase in the absolute proportion of smokers having strong response to the packs.

The prominence of the new health warnings saw an increase in smokers encouraged to quit the habit from 13 to 20 per cent.

Game changer ... Australia was the first country to introduce plain packaging. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

Joining ... Other countries are now also looking at introducing plain packaging. Picture: Supplied. Source: News Limited

The research found eight in ten smokers no longer thought their cigarette pack was attractive, up from two in ten.

A similar proportion no longer thought their pack was fashionable, influenced the brand they bought or matched their style.

Since the introduction of plain packs, smokers were more likely to report that on-pack health warnings made them worry that they shouldn’t be smoking (from 13 per cent to 27 per cent).

“This first-of-its-kind study demonstrates the clear and sustained impact tobacco plain packaging has had on the prominence of on-pack health warnings, as well as negative perceptions about tobacco packs,” Professor Currow said.

“If plain cigarette packs can intensify smokers’ responses to warnings, as shown in this study, we can undoubtedly expect flow-on effects on consumption and quitting as a direct result of plain packaging.

Other countries around the world including England and Ireland are closely watching Australia’s plain packaging experiment and are poised to introduce plain packs.

Professor Currow said this latest research should give them courage.