COST conscious councillors have stubbed out a plan to pay council staff up to £50 each to stop smoking.

The cash hand-out, which would have cost around £3,000, would have been used to pay for anti-smoking therapies such as hypnosis, acupuncture and nicotine patches.

But councillors, who are looking to save around £850,000 from the council budget over the next 12 months, decided they could not afford the scheme.

They also rejected a complete ban on smoking in council offices from next April.

But they agreed that visits to smoking rooms should be restricted to twice a day from July in a bid to cut down on time staff spend away from their desks.

Councillor Tim Haigh said: "At this time it is not morally possible to propose to give financial assistance to members of staff to give up smoking."

Members of the council's personnel sub-committee, which met last night, to discuss the scheme, were not convinced that handing out cash would help people give up the habit.

"I think the people themselves have to decide when they're ready to give up smoking," said Councillor Frank Clifford. "It's for the individual to come to that decision with encouragement from others with information and advice." But Coun Clifford said it was the council's duty to provide a healthy environment for its staff and he suggested a total ban on smoking should be introduced eventually.

Councillor Sarah Hill added: "Staff who smoke have said to me that they are really worried about how they would get through the day without the opportunity to have a cigarette from time to time.

"They're not asking for hours and hours to spend in the smoking room but they are asking for the right to have their feelings considered."

She added: "I think the idea that people are using it to dodge work is nonsense."

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