SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia on Thursday said it would become the world's first country to ban logos and branding on cigarette packets, sparking a furious response from the tobacco industry.

Cigarettes will be sold in plain, standardised packages carrying large, graphic warnings against smoking -- and the brand name in small print -- from 2012, under proposed new legislation.

The government also sharply raised taxes on cigarettes by 25 percent from midnight on Thursday, adding about two dollars (1.85 US) to a packet of 30, with the proceeds ploughed in to healthcare.

"Cigarettes are not cool, cigarettes kill people," said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

"This will be the most hardline regime for cigarette packaging anywhere in the world," he added.