The excise on tobacco products will rise by 13.7 per cent from today, the largest excise increase since the 28.5 per cent jump in April 2010.

After the rise, excise taxes are forecast to account for between 60 to 70 per cent of the retail price of a pack of cigarettes.

Despite rising excise and lower smoking uptake, the retail sales value of tobacco products is expected to continue to grow, after climbing past $12 billion for the first time in 2013-14.

This has been driven by consumers simply shifting to alternative forms of tobacco in response to changes in price, with entrenched smokers supporting ongoing growth in retail sales by reducing expenditure in other areas of discretionary consumption.

According to IbisWorld research, the 2010 hike in tobacco excise caused around one in five smokers to change their purchasing patterns.

In addition to reducing or quitting smoking, this included opting for cheaper cigarettes, shopping around for the best value among brands, or switching to roll your own tobacco.

This was significantly more prevalent in consumers under the age of 30, close to 30 per cent of whom changed their purchasing behaviours.

Currently, standard cigarettes account for the largest share of tobacco product sales, at 64.3 per cent, followed by premium cigarettes (18.9 per cent); roll your own tobacco (9.1 per cent); other smoking tobacco, such as pipe tobacco (5.2 per cent); and cigars (2.5 per cent).

In 2014-15, IbisWorld estimates 17 per cent of the population, around four million Australians are smokers, including daily and occasional smokers.

The smoking rate has declined significantly over the past decade, falling from 22 per cent of the population, around five million Australians 10 years ago. This decline has occurred across all age groups, but is particularly apparent among younger consumers.