This is a huge boost for Fresh, the campaign for Smoke Free North East, which is dedicated to promoting a healthier environment for everyone.

Acting Director of Fresh, Smoke Free North East, Ailsa Rutter said: "We are very pleased that such a high percentage of people are supportive of the campaign. With such a groundswell of opinion behind the principle it is time to take action to protect the region's health.

"Inhaling other people's smoke has been shown to increase a person's risk of heart disease by 25 per cent and lung cancer by 24 per cent.

"If employers supported the majority of people in Durham and Darlington and helped people to stop smoking at work there would be considerable health benefits for all their employees, not just the smokers."

People questioned in the survey were also asked how worried they were about their exposure to second hand smoke and 35 per cent were worried to some degree about their exposure at work while a massive 69 per cent were concerned about their exposure in pubs or restaurants.

Workers in the hospitality industry are exposed to twice as much second hand smoke than other workers in other industries and have one of the highest rates of lung cancer of all occupations. M/F

Ms Rutter added: "People rarely think of bars and restaurants as workplaces but the staff in such businesses are exposed to very high levels of second hand smoke. Ventilation systems can remove the smell of smoke but they do not eliminate the cancer-causing chemicals from the air.

"Workers in the hospitality industry, and their customers, should be protected from this kind of exposure to harmful substances and the vast majority of people would back such a move."

Other results from the survey showed that more than half (53%) of people believe second hand smoke seriously damages your health and another 36 per cent thought it slightly damaged your health while only six per cent believe it has no impact.

The Fresh campaign launches on World No Tobacco Day, 31st May 2005.