Last week I was in Tasmania to launch the Minderoo Foundation's 2019 Annual Report.

I used my time to meet with stakeholders about Tobacco21, a proposed bill that I, and leading health experts, believe will save young Australians from deadly tobacco addiction.

During our visit we tried to meet with Mr Mallet and the Tasmania Small Business Council.

We invited him and other tobacco retailers to the event we hosted, and I asked to meet with him privately. Mr Mallet sent his apologies five minutes before our event concluded.

I'm less concerned that he declined to have an honest and open discussion of the policy with me, but I am furious that he continues to peddle the lies of tobacco lobbyists to the Australian public.

Retailers in Tasmania need not fear the effects of Tobacco21.

My offer to compensate retailers was an indication of my confidence in our T21 modelling, which predicts negligible impact to tobacco sales and profitability.

Raising the age would stop no more than 600 young people a year from purchasing cigarette products. Across the state that number would barely register to individual retailers, however the lasting health impact it would have on Tasmania's young people will be immeasurable.

Tobacco21 works as a circuit breaker. If young people can get to 21 without smoking, they are far less likely to become lifelong customers of big tobacco.

Last week I urged the state government to conduct a Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Tobacco 21 bill, to provide an independent analysis of the economic effect it will have in Tasmania.

If Mr Mallett is actually concerned about the impact of Tobacco21 on Tasmanian retailers, he will join me in asking the Premier to pursue this.

Instead, he seems committed to ill-informed scaremongering at the expense of public health.

In his interview on Tuesday, Mr Mallett questioned the independence of the Menzies Institute, one of Australia's most respected research bodies. This is borderline slanderous.

Minderoo's motive for supporting Tobacco21 research is transparent- we hope to save some of the 15,500 Australians who die from tobacco-related illnesses each year.

I wish Mr Mallet's motives were as clear, and it was as easy to see what funding retail groups like his have received from the tobacco industry in the past.

Mr Mallet, the Tasmania Small Business Council and other industry groups oppose Tobacco21 because they will lose life-long tobacco customers in Tasmania.

I know I'm not alone in thinking that is a good thing.

Next year, the Menzies Institute will publish its Tobacco21 research and I am hopeful the state government will release a Regulatory Impact Assessment of the economic impact of the bill.

My team and I believe that the findings of both will prove without a doubt that Tobacco21 will be effective in Tasmania.

That our meeting requests were ignored by Mr Mallet is telling but unsurprising. My door is always open to tobacco retailers if they wish to discuss legitimate concerns about Tobacco21 when we're in the same state.

However, I won't be holding my breath waiting for them to return the favour.