Employers and employees alike are strongly behind a ban on smoking in the workplace, with staff particularly concerned about the effects of breathing in cigarette fumes, new research has found.

The study, conducted by Portfolio Payroll, found that 84 per cent of workers and 76 per cent of bosses felt that there should be a widespread no-smoking policy in the workplace.

Many employees were worried about passive smoking, with 87 per cent feeling there should be a designated area for smokers at work.

The report highlighted the harmful affects of employee smoking, revealing that the average smoker takes 11 days off sick a year, compared to seven days for non-smokers.

A further 78 per cent admitted they have considered giving up smoking because of the growing trend of smoke-free workplaces, although just 12 per cent had achieved their goal.

Despite concerns among businesses, especially restaurants and bars, that a blanket smoking ban would dent profits, similar bans in New York and Ireland have revealed strong support among customers for a smoke-free atmosphere.

Previous studies have shown that small firms suffer a dip in productivity if they employ too many smokers, while employers have been warned that they could face legal action if they fail to protect staff from passive smoking.

Danny Done, managing director of Portfolio Payroll, said that health and safety regulations within the workplace are becoming increasingly high-profile and controls and monitoring are becoming stricter.

“A quarter of workers polled admitted to being ver concerned by passive smoking. The problem was especially serious within small businesses, which are far less likely to have an all-out smoking ban in place.

“Many employees are suffering in silence while their health is placed at risk because they may be shy or unwilling to kick up a fuss among fellow employees who so smoke and who would be inconvenienced by a ban.

“It is best practice for bosses who are considering banning or limiting employee smoking to consult staff members first, particularly if there are a large number of smokers in the workforce.

“Smoking restrictions should be imposed over a period of a few months to allow people to adjust,” he said.