You've actually got it more on topic than you realize.
The government has taxed the crap out of cigarettes to the point that they are not going really be able to get away with large tax increases on the product any more.
Sure, small increases 'due to inflation' will occur.
So what will a poor government do raise more money for the coffers? (coffers- get it??)
Everyone knows the plain packaging will be totally ineffectual, smokers love smoking, they are addicted and that is that.
The government has in fact created a whole new market for them to gain revenue from, and the brilliance lies in the fact that it is tied implicitly to the cigarette market.
With the rise of the 'bling culture', existing smokers in the 30 and under age group (as a general rule) will not put up with carrying daggy cigarette packets around.
The cigarette packet will now become yet another product of self expression, a way to display your personal style in exactly the way mobile phones are.
And on top of that, it's a multi-purchase market; how many people do you know with a few different mobile phone covers?
Well done government, well done, and as you told other countries to follow your lead, they will soon enough.
Who said innovation in government was dead?
...
)
