Legislation to increase the legal smoking age to 21 years in Tasmania will be debated in the Legislative Council on Tuesday.
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The T21 bill, which was first introduced to the upper house in 2018, would ban the sale of smoking products to people under the age of 21.
A family member who gifted a smoking product to an underage person would not be deemed as having committed an offence unless they were a licenced tobacco seller or staff member.
Young people who attempt to buy smoking products would not be penalised under the bill.
The state's small business lobby has fiercely criticised the bill, but it has won praise from those in the health and community sectors.
Australian Medical Association member Adrian Reynolds, University of Tasmania Rural Clinical School senior lecturer Nick Towke, and dentistry professor Len Crocombe in a statement said an increased smoking age had slowed uptake of smoking by young people in Singapore.
They said the highest smoking rate by age group in Tasmania is in 18-24 years age range at 22.6 per cent.
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"We know that controls are far more effective than education in reducing the initiation of smoking," they said.
"T21 will limit smoking experimentation by effectively reducing the sharing of smoking products within schools because students will no longer be old enough to legally purchase smoking products.
"Evidence supports the need for a comprehensive and multipronged approach to tobacco control measures that reinforce each other.
"Focussing primarily on education is no match for the sophisticated marketing strategies of the tobacco industry."
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Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
