The Australian Greens will move to introduce laws preventing major supermarket chain Coles from flooding the market with cheap imported cigarettes.

Coles and its parent company Wesfarmers are under mounting pressure to stop importing cheap cigarettes from Germany, which are $2 to $4 a packet cheaper than most other brands.

Greens Senator Rachel Siewert says Coles was recently chastised by the Senate for selling cheap alcohol in Alice Springs, undermining efforts to curb alcohol abuse.

"The message to Coles is could you please be a more responsible corporate citizen," she said.

"It is very disappointing to see one of our major supermarket chains flooding the market with cheap alcohol and cheap cigarettes when clearly we need a much more responsible approach to both alcohol and smoking."

The Australian Council on Smoking and Health's Mike Daube says the move is clearly designed to circumvent a recent tax hike on cigarettes.

He says the move makes a mockery of the recent tax hike on cigarettes, which was designed to discourage people from smoking.

"Very clearly this was a plan to beat the price increase and I do hope that the company realises that they've made a mistake," he said.

"Cigarettes kill one in two regular users. Wesfarmers and Coles shouldn't be stooping to sell cigarettes to kids.

"Wesfarmers are an important company with a terrific record, they don't need to stoop to selling cigarettes at prices that appeal to kids and vulnerable groups."

Professor Daube is writing to Wesfarmers chief Richard Goyder urging him to rescind the decision.

The ABC has contacted Wesfarmers for comment.