[Vicky.]

The thing is...Im betting not all workers actually work their whole shift. I know from experience(and what I have been told also) that most office jobs consist of a fair few hours of sitting talking etc(looks at niamh ). So whats the difference between going for a 5 min ciggie and sitting telling your co-worker the latest gossip for 5 mins or so?

The only time I can see this being a problem would be...for example..if you worked in a busy bar or a factory, where everyone else was constantly working hard, and you kept nipping out for a smoke. But thats unlikely to happen because you wouldnt be allowed to do that really if it was that busy.