Data compiled by the Mitchell Institute this year showed about one in five adults in Wendouree, Miners Rest, Sebastopol and Delacombe smoke, compared to about one in eight adults taking a puff in Ballarat Central.

The highest smoking rates in the city are almost five times higher than in Australia's wealthiest suburbs and clearly above the national average of 12.2 per cent.

University of Newcastle Women in Science Chair, Professor Billie Bonevski suggested that now was the best time to try and quit smoking.

"There's never a bad time to quit," she said. "If you smoke, you leave yourself more open to all sorts of diseases. When there's a global pandemic of a respiratory disease, it's probably a good time to try and be as healthy as you can be."

In a survey of 262 cigarette or e-cigarette smokers conducted by the Heart Foundation in May, 31 per cent said they had actually been smoking more often than normal during the pandemic, compared to 29 per cent who had reduced their habit.

Prof Bonevski said the decrease could come from people wanting to help protect themselves from the virus, while the increase is likely a result of increased stress and anxiety levels.

"People are isolated, they're feeling the mental health effects of losing work, they're feeling the general anxiety of potentially getting a deadly virus," she said.

"All of those things can undermine quit attempts... even if people know now is the right time to quit smoking, people may be reaching for a cigarette when they're feeling like they can't cope with everything going on."

Moving forward, Prof Bonevski said continuing to reach out for support when necessary was key for those looking to quit smoking during the pandemic.

"People need to remember that there is still support available to them in isolation wherever they are," she continued.

"Talking with family and friends can be very important during this time where we may be separated from our loved ones. On top of that, nicotine replacement measures are still available to help people slowly work away from their smoking habits. Above all, Quitline is always available if people are needing someone to talk to about started to move towards quitting."

If you want to contact the Victorian Quitline, call 137848 or visit www.quit.org.au.

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