SYDNEY --- Tobacco companies will be forced to use plain, logo-free packaging on their cigarettes in order to make them less attractive to smokers under laws introduced Thursday by Australia's government. The rules, which will take effect on 1 July 2012, will ban tobacco companies from including logos, promotional text or color1ful images on cigarette packages. A government health warning will be displayed instead, with the brand name at the bottom. The government also announced it would raise the cigarette tax by 25 percent, driving up the price of a pack of 30 cigarettes by about A$2.16(PS1.30). Tobacco companies immediately decided to fight it in court. "Introducing plain packaging just takes away the ability of a consumer to identify our brand from another brand and  _ is of value to us," an Imperial Tobacco Australia spokeswoman, Cathie Keogh, told ABC, adding the company plans to take legal action. Retailers  said the tax increase would hurt their businesses and encourage the cigarette black market. "It's a policy being pushed by some health advocates," said Mick Daly, the national chairman of Australian supermarket chain IGA. "That is a direct attack on approximately 16 percent of Australians who have made legal lifestyle choices." Time Wilson, director of intellectual property  and free trade at Australia's Institute of Public Affairs, said tobacco companies were likely to demand compensation  over the forced packaging changes, which could cost taxpayers around A$3 billion a year. "Under Australia's constitution, if the government basically takes someone's property rights, including intellectual property such as trademarks, they have to provide compensation," Wilson said. "I'd be shocked if they didn't seek compensation, because if it happens here, it'll happen all over the world." Opposition leader Tony Abbott said he wanted evidence that changing the packaging would reduce smoking. "I'm not in the business of defending smoking, I want to make that  ly clear. But I also want to make  ly clear that this is not a health policy - this is a tax grab ," Abbott said. Australia has banned tobacco ads from print, television and radio for years. Internet advertising will also be forbidden. According to Tim Wilson, tobacco companies will take legal action because   _  .
retailers are strongly against the policy it's a policy pushed by some health advocates people all over the world are shocked at the news they should demand compensation from the government