Prison smoking ban enforced in Tas

Tasmanian inmates will be forced to quit smoking following a ban in the state's prisons.

The change has been phased in during the past 18 months and a total ban will be in place from midnight on Friday.

Prisons director Brian Edwards said inmates had been supported through the change and most had already stopped smoking.

About 90 per cent of the state's prisoners had been identified as cigarette smokers.

Mr Edwards said Tasmania's prison service liaised with authorities in Queensland and the Northern Territory, which already have smoking bans.

The change sparked protests in Queensland when it was introduced in May 2014, sending a Brisbane prison into lockdown and resulting in charges for 11 inmates.

Mr Edwards does not expect such problems in Tasmania.

"A lot of our prisoners wanted to stop smoking anyway," he said.