Smokers will now be able to access nicotine replacement therapy more cheaply if they have a prescription.
It will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from today, so taxpayers cover most of the cost.
Some 15-thousand Australians die each year from tobacco-related diseases and smoking costs the economy 31.5 billion dollars annually.
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The move coincides with the latest federal government anti-smoking ad campaign. Health Minister Nicola Roxon says it's ready for a showdown with the tobacco industry.
The $61m anti-smoking message launched yesterday and running through the year warns smokers that coughing up blood can be one of the first signs of lung cancer and every cigarette is a step closer to the disease.
Roxon says the government's expecting big tobacco companies to challenge the plain packaging legislation due to be introduced into parliament in the middle of this year.
But she says despite tobacco companies warning they'll fight attempts to restrict marketing of their products, the government won't back down.
