AMA backs cigarette tax hike

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has encouraged the federal government to do everything it can to stop young girls smoking.

Newly-appointed AMA president Dr Andrew Pesce said he supported increasing taxes on cigarettes because it was an effective deterrent to taking up smoking.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has put forward a plan to raise the excise on tobacco by 12.5 per cent.

But Treasurer Wayne Swan has ruled the measure out for now.

"If there is a problem with certain subsections of the Australian population taking up smoking, like young girls, I think the government does need a coordinated response to that," Dr Pesce told Network Ten on Sunday.

"Certainly price signals work and the government has to consider everything."