I don't think Government really wants to stop people smoking -...

I don't think Government really wants to stop people smoking - they get a lot of revenue from it. I understand that a large percentage of the price of cigarettes is purely tax.

Plain packaging is a token gesture, imo, as it's unlikely to have much impact on stopping people smoking or even preventing young ones getting into it.

When my kids were in high school, cigarettes were not sold by the packet in the school ground - they were available individually. It's peer pressure that's the biggest factor, imo.

An excerpt from the 2010-11 budget review which confirms my thoughts, imo:

"What the Government has not done for low income and disadvantaged groups is provide additional assistance such as increased funding for smoking cessation programs. For example, the Government has not adopted a March 2010 recommendation by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee that nicotine replacement therapy patches be placed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and subsidised by taxpayers.[14] This was also one of the recommendations made by the National Preventative Health Taskforce.[15] In short, the tobacco excise increase is not as progressive as it might have been had it been accompanied by further measures to assist low income and disadvantaged groups, such as those outlined by the National Preventative Health Taskforce."

http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview201011/HealthTobaccoExcise