One of the researchers behind graphic warnings on tobacco packets says warning labels should be printed on each cigarette to encourage smokers to quit.
Paul McDonald from Massey University was part of a group that encouraged Canada to become the first country in the world to print graphic warnings on tobacco packaging in the 1990s.
He says printing rings around cigarettes that indicate minutes of life lost as the rings are burned was an effective deterrent in a preliminary study in Canada.
"Why it resonated with them is really clear. They said remind me and keep reminding me in vivid terms of what this product is doing to me.
"And so to that extent, it literally puts the risk under their nose each and every time they smoke."
Professor McDonald says the New Zealand Government's plans to introduce unbranded packets with graphic warning images is the next logical step in cigarette packaging.
Meanwhile, a University of Canterbury study has found recent rises on tobacco tax may have cut the smoking rate.
In January this year, the Government began a four-year programme of raising the tax each year by 10% plus the cost of inflation.
The survey of more than 200 smokers in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin found a 4.5% drop in smoking after this year's tax increase.
One of the study's directors, Murray Laugesen, says applied nationally, the smoking rate could have dropped to below 16% of the population.
Dr Laugesen says it will be interesting to see whether the results continue over a longer period.
