Smokers may soon be filtered out of the workplace because employing them is “too much trouble”, a lobby group warned yesterday.

Forest, which campaigns for people’s right to smoke, said more and more employers were making life unreasonably difficult for smokers.

Director Simon Clark spoke out as Breckland Council, which is based in Dereham, Norfolk, became the latest local authority to consider making workers clock off while they take a cigarette break.

“We don’t have figures but there are quite a few which either have some sort of ‘clocking off’ policy or a complete no-smoking policy.

“Our concern is that soon smokers will be losing out on jobs because their lives at work will be so complicated that employers will decide it’s too much trouble to employ them.”

He added: “This idea of ‘clocking off’ to smoke isn’t a health issue. It’s unreasonable. Will they make people ‘clock off’ if they have a coffee break?

“If some people are taking too many smoking breaks than it’s an issue for managers, not a health issue.”

Mr Clark said Forest had already objected to job advertisements asking for “non smokers”.