We should be focusing on getting people to stop smoking cigarettes, not just smokers.

One expert is advising our policy makers to remember that their purpose is to help and support smokers who want to quit instead of punishing them. The senior fellow at the US Public Policy Research centre says initiatives like e-cigarettes should be welcomed as helpful.

The comments come ahead of a debate called "How to Really Stop People Smoking" at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin tonight.

Jeff Stier is a Senior fellow at the National Centre for Public Policy Research in the US, he spoke to Newstalk's Breakfast this morning: