VERY few councils in the region continue to provide staff with smoking rooms.

A survey by The Northern Echo shows that only four out of 20 local authorities in the North-East and North Yorkshire allow workers to smoke on council premises.

A further three councils provide shelters outside offices, while others permit staff to leave their desks during working hours to calm their cravings.

Two authorities - Hartlepool and Gateshead - will bring in an outright ban on smoking breaks in the next six months, and join Middlesbrough and Chester-le-Street as the only others to take such steps.

Unions initially opposed the plan in Hartlepool but have been in talks with council bosses to get the best possible deal for workers, which includes counselling, as well as free nicotine patches and cessation classes.

The councils that still provide staff with smoking rooms are Derwentside, Easington and Sedgefield, all in County Durham, and Ryedale, in North Yorkshire.

District of Easington has two rooms - one for staff and one for councillors - at its headquarters, while workers at the council-run Peterlee leisure centre have one.

A designated room is available at Derwentside District Council's civic centre, in Consett, and at the headquarters of Sedgefield Borough Council and Ryedale District Council.

Councillors in Ryedale and Sedgefield are reviewing their policy. In Sedgefield, they are consulting staff and the public about plans to ban smoking in all four of its leisure centres in Newton Aycliffe, Ferryhill, Spennymoor and Shildon.

A survey earlier this year among centre members showed 45 per cent were in favour of a ban, but two-thirds of people who used the bars said they would stop going if they couldn't light up.

Council bosses in Derwentside are also re-examining their policy and are working closely with local health officials on plans to ban smoking their offices and leisure venues.

Executive director of the council Mike Clark said: "There is some research that indicates there could be reduced income in places such as leisure centres, but the opposite is true at theatres and cinemas where takings have actually increased as a result of smoking bans."

Throughout the region, shopping centre owners have implemented bans, and only two malls still allow smoking - Eldon Square, in Newcastle, and Middleton Grange, in Hartlepool.

In Newcastle, council chiefs are seeking a by-law to ban smoking at Eldon Square, and bosses at Middleton Grange are keeping their policy under constant review.

Nationally, the latest figures show 86 per cent of companies already have a no-smoking policy.