The study by the Mitchell Institute and Victoria University put Bridgewater and Gagebrook at the top of the table, finding that 33.9 per cent of its residents were categorised as smokers.

The report also found that three North-West areas had the highest smoking rates in the state - 32.6 per cent on the West Coast, 27.9 per cent at Smithton, and 26.7 per cent in East Devonport.

The five areas with the lowest smoking rates were in the South with a rate of between 9.9 and 10.6 per cent on the Eastern Shore and around 9.2 per cent for five suburbs south of Hobart.

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Professor Rosemary Calder, from the Mitchell Institute, said the information showed quit strategies needed to be targeted towards specific communities.

She said it had been seven years since there was a mass national media campaign to encourage people to give up tobacco.

"Those campaigns have contributed to steep declines in the smoking rates," Professor Calder said.

"With modern technology, we now have the ability to target quit campaigns to people who need it most, and direct to their phones.

"We need to invest in these campaigns and in working with local councils, their communities and health services to ensure appropriate resourcing to support people to quit."

She said smoking was the leading cause of preventable death in the country and killed an estimated 19,000 people each year.

According to the Tasmanian Tobacco Control Plan, an average of 559 Tasmanians die each year from smoking.

The plan identified the 35 to 44-year-old age group as containing the highest amount of smokers.