Scottish smokers to be paid for quitting

DUNDEE, Scotland, June 21 (UPI) -- Nearly 1,000 smokers in Dundee, Scotland, will be paid nearly $100 a month to quit their tobacco habits, health officials say.

Paul Ballard, who serves as the public health deputy director for the National Health Service Tayside, said the payment concept came about after other cessation techniques failed to significantly motivate smokers, The Scotsman reported Saturday.

"After Glasgow, Dundee probably has proportionately the biggest smoking problem in Scotland," he said. "And, although current smoking cessation services are working well, because of the complexities of poverty and health, we know we need to do more to tackle this."

Opponents of the new plan, which will be partially funded by the Scottish government, say paying people to quit smoking is akin to bribery and not a proper use of taxpayers' funds.

"What we object to is first of all when people are forced to stop or being bribed in this way," said Neil Rafferty, the pro-smoking lobbying group Forest's spokesman.

"Smoking is a choice that adults should be allowed to make. And the decision to quit should be a choice that they should be allowed to make as well."