A leading tobacco treatment specialist says we must legalise e-cigarettes if we’re to keep winning the battle against smoking.

The National Health Survey, released on Wednesday, shows the decline in smoking rates has stagnated.

According to the survey of 21,000 people, 15.2 per cent of Australians adults smoked in 2017-18 compared to 16 per cent in 2014-15.

After years of making inroads against the deadly habit, Associate Professor Colin Mendelsohn says we are losing the fight.

He tells Chris Smith “we’ve clearly become complacent about smoking”.

“We need to try a new approach.

“It’s the most popular quitting method in Ireland, in the European Union, the US and the UK.

“It’s also effective. We know it works.”

Click PLAY below for the full interview