The first plain green cigarette packs are starting to spread across the gantries of Australian tobacco retailers.

From October 1, all tobacco products manufactured or packaged for domestic consumption in Australia must comply with plain packaging regulations.

Retailers will have a further two months in which to sell out of the old graphic stock before a total ban is enforced.

Pre-empting the ban, Imperial Tobacco launched a limited-edition pack design for its Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes which showed current packaging partially ripped off to reveal a plain olive green pack beneath.

British American Tobacco Australia is reported to have changed the descriptors of some cigarettes to image-based names such as “crush sky”, “sea green menthol” and “smooth amber” in a bid to create brand imagery.

The Australian Retailers Association said plain packaging would have serious “detrimental and unintended consequences” on Australian retailers who already complied with a tobacco display ban.