Next time you feel the urge to rage about intolerant bosses and colleagues over a furtive cigarette outside the doors of your non-smoking office, spare a thought for council staff in Tower Hamlets in London's East End. They have been told they will be forced to work up to 2 1/2 hours extra a week to make up for the time spent away from their desks.

Some bright spark has taken the time to work out that staff who smoke spend three full working weeks a year away from their desks on cigarette breaks. Strangely there was no mention of the work hours lost on screen breaks recommended for all computer users. Given the current labour shortage here, Irish smokers should not feel the wrath of such time and motion nonsense for some time to come.