From: ACAPMA
by The Australian
The first fake plain-packaged cigarettes have been discovered, sparking fears they may be a test run for a flood of counterfeits.
Five packs labelled Craven A 20s have appeared in NSW, two in the southern Sydney suburb of Rockdale and the others in Cringila, in the Illawarra.
British American Tobacco Australia, the manufacturer of Craven A, says the company markets two varieties of the cigarette in Australia filter and gold in packs of 25, not 20
The detected counterfeits mention neither of the variants.
The introduction of plain packaging in late 2012 sparked warnings the generic packs would be easier for tobacco smugglers to reproduce, but the producers of the detected counterfeits have made some basic blunders.
The pack colour is darker than the drab olive shade specified by the plain-packaging laws.
