The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended Australia's plain packaging laws, saying they can save lives.

Australia was the world’s first country to fully implement plain packaging back in 2012.

This year, France and the UK have begun implementing plain packaging, with Ireland preparing to introduce the measure soon too.

While other countries are exploring the option, WHO authorities say Australia has shown that the measure works.

“Plain packaging reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products. It kills the glamour, which is appropriate for a product that kills people,” says WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan.

“It restricts tobacco advertising and promotion. It limits misleading packaging and labelling. And it increases the effectiveness of health warnings.”

The increased effectiveness can be seen in the stats.

Smoking in Australia was already in decline in the years before the introduction of plain packaging, which came in conjunction with new and enlarged health warnings in 2012.

But, from December 2012 to September 2015, there was an additional 0.55 per cent point fall in smoking prevalence among those aged 14 and above attributable to the packaging changes, according to official post-implementation review.

This equates to more than 108,000 people quitting - not relapsing or simply not starting to smoke - during that period.

“Plain packaging can reduce demand for tobacco products, as clearly seen in Australia. It offers a powerful tool to countries as part of a comprehensive approach to tackle the scourge of tobacco use,” says Dr Oleg Chestnov, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health.

The theme of this year’s World No Tobacco Day – Get ready for plain packaging – is aimed at pushing new efforts to control tobacco products, which kill almost 6 million people each year.

“Plain packaging is going global as more and more countries seek the important health gains it can bring to communities,” says Dr Douglas Bettcher, WHO’s Director for the Prevention of NCDs..

“The tobacco industry has been getting ready for plain packaging for some time, conducting massive misinformation campaigns to block the measure."

"So it is encouraging to see more and more countries defy the industry’s tactics and implement plain packaging to reduce demand for tobacco products and put the health of their populations first.”

In real terms, the WHO is hoping plain packaging awareness will get the 180 signatories to the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – which was entered into in 2005 – to actually take on their obligations, which include; protecting people from exposure to tobacco smoke, banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, banning sales to minors, requiring health warnings on tobacco packaging, promoting tobacco cessation, increasing tobacco taxes and creating a national coordinating mechanism for tobacco control.