A new study from the Australian National University delving into the population of people who smoke has found that most people who smoke are actually educated, employed and in good mental health.

The researchers analysed nationally representative data to get an understanding of the population of people who smoke. It found:

Australian National University Professor of epidemiology and public health Emily Banks said there was a stigma around people who smoke.

"What we had noticed is that the studies of smoking behaviour had tended to be comparative," Professor Banks said.

"So they'd say things like, people who are unemployed are more likely to smoke, or people who have mental illness are more likely to smoke than people who don't, or people who have had less education are more likely to smoke. And it sort of creates this picture of all smokers as people who have mental illness or who are unemployed.

"What this really showed is that smoking is a problem across the whole community."

While smoking was more common among certain demographics, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Professor Banks said it was important to show the issue was not confined to one group.

Well-educated people still smoked, despite being aware of the health risks, because nicotine was one of the most addictive substances on the planet.

"What the tobacco industry has worked out is they need to get people addicted when they're teenagers or adolescents because that's when your brain is plastic and it's laying down all those habits," Professor Banks said.

"Then you can have lifetime customers. So it's highly addictive."

She said it was important that the responsibility for the tobacco epidemic was placed on the tobacco industry, not the people who were addicted.

The study, coauthored by ANU medical student Jessica Aw and Associate Professor Raglan Maddox, was published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Professor Banks said the study was an important contribution to tackle Australia's leading cause of premature death and disability.

"I keep getting asked to do things like, 'sitting is the new smoking' ... and really, we need to pay attention to smoking."

The findings could be used to inform anti-smoking campaigns to ensure people who smoke recognise themselves in the messaging, she said.