Smokers offered money to give up

[Setarime]

Smokers in the poorest areas of Dundee are being offered £150 worth of groceries by the health service if they are able to give up cigarettes.

Participants in a 12-week scheme will be given £12.50 a week by NHS Tayside if a carbon monoxide breath test proves they have not been smoking.

The money will be credited onto an electronic card which cannot be used for cigarettes or alcohol.

There are 36,000 smokers in Dundee, about half of whom live in poverty.

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Tayside and Central | Smokers offered money to give up

Why should they get more money just for not smoking? This is so wrong!!

[SilentOne]

i would just about pay people i know to quit if i thought it would work

[Steve]

What a surprise!!

The UK bribing people to stop doing thing's they shouldn't. If it's not people being paid to not smoke, it's students being paid to attend college.

When is this government going to reward the hard-working, home-owning individual?

[TGLucario]

its like me getting paid to play Halo & Yu-Gi-Oh! in school...as part of EMA ^^

besides if everyone stops smoking goverment will increase tax...as smoking helps them get money!

[O.G]

As a smoker myself i must say this is a joke,the money could be used somewhere else for those who are in need for it..

[saltlick52]

as a ex smoker i think the healt care we all pay for smokers would pay for it self and we all would line healthly lives not to bad of a trade off. then we could abuse something else lol

[Arwen]

I dont agree that smokers should be paid to give up smoking,that idea is nearly as bad as the goverment wanting to give drug addicts free drugs on the nhs. It just plain stupid an i am a smoker

[Crystal]

I saw this on tele. they are looking at prevention rather than the cure which would be alot more expensive, I don't think it will work.

[Coppaforlife]

I truly believe "bribing" smokers to stop doing something that is hazardous to their health as it was called; may be wrong but if it works to save lives then fine. But, will it really work is the biggest question.