Fruit and lolly flavoured cigarettes will be banned in Victoria within weeks under new laws to combat teenage smoking.
Health Minister Daniel Andrews announced the ban on World No Tobacco Day, as new figures showed fewer teenagers were smoking.
State and territory governments agreed to the flavoured cigarette ban two years ago.
Legislation was passed in Victoria last year to support the ban, which Mr Andrews said would come into effect in the next three to four weeks, following South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania, where they were already prohibited.
The minister said one in three teenage girls was more likely to be "tricked" into smoking while flavoured cigarettes were on the market, in what he described as a cynical marketing ploy.
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"These are absolutely and fundamentally aimed at younger people and it's about getting people hooked at a younger age," Mr Andrews said.
Under the new laws, individuals caught selling flavoured cigarettes will be fined about $500 and companies up to $7000. It will also be illegal to import flavoured cigarettes into Victoria.
The ban coincides with the release of a new study by Quit on teenage smoking.
The 2008 survey of more than 4000 students across 67 Victorian schools indicated teenage smoking rates had halved since 2002.
About six per cent of 12-15 year-olds and 14 per cent of 16-17 year-olds surveyed admitted to smoking. Quit executive director Fiona Sharkie said that equated to about 29,000 fewer teenagers lighting up since 2002.
"The results of this survey today show that smoking rates among young people aged 12 to 17 have never been lower," she said.
"What that translates to is there's 29,000 fewer smokers and 15,000 fewer deaths from tobacco, when we consider that one out of every two smokers will die from a smoking caused illness."
Ms Sharkie attributed the downturn in teenage smoking rates to graphic anti-smoking campaigns, warnings on packaging, price increases and public smoking restrictions.
She said while flavoured cigarettes had fewer sales than regular smokes, they targeted a small, impressionable market.
"They are designed to make smoking easier, make it more palatable, that it tastes better, it's less harsh on the throat.
"It's a very deceptive and purposeful move by the tobacco industry to recruit smokers because they know that when you become a smoker as a teenager, you're generally a smoker for life."
