The price of cigarettes would continue to rise into the next decade under a policy being considered by Labor.
Before the 2013 election the Labor government raised tobacco excise by 12.5 per cent a year over four years.
The plan was estimated to raise $5.3 billion, while also reducing the number of smokers and the cost of treating lung cancer.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is considering extending the excise rises four years beyond their September 2016 end date.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull himself proposed an excise rise in his budget reply speech in 2009.
A senior Labor source says the prime minister should adopt the excise hike instead of raising the GST because it has an added health benefit.
"As Bill Shorten has said, we are interested in reform with a purpose," the source told AAP.
Labor strategist Bruce Hawker said research conducted in 2013 showed the government could have raised the tax even further with the electorate's support.
"As long as that money essentially went towards health you were going to get a very sympathetic response from the electorate," he told Sky News on Monday.
Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer labelled the proposal another Labor "tax take".
"I'm not sure that's going to be the solution to fund all the debt they've got us into," Ms O'Dwyer told ABC radio on Monday.
