A CRACKDOWN on smoking is being backed by Worcester City Council - with politicians agreeing to support a project to discourage the habit.

The council has signed up to a new 'declaration on tobacco control' which aims to bring down the £27 million county taxpayers fork out to deal with smoking-related illness every year.

It was voted through during a full council meeting after a report said smoking does "enormous and ongoing damage" to people's lives.

Despite the habit's popularity tumbling for years around 13 per cent of Worcester's population and 14.7 per cent of householders in Worcestershire are still smoking.

The declaration means the council will be impelled to have an input into all anti-smoking plans in Worcestershire, and get involved in the regional networks for tackling it.

They will also have to monitor the progress of any plans and join the national Smoke Free Action Coalition, which actively promotes quitting.

Until now Worcestershire County Council and the NHS were the main bodies taking on the mantle for reducing smoking.

Councillor Lucy Hodgson, the cabinet member for customer service and communications, said: "It gives me great delight to second this, I raised this at the last full council meeting and am very much aware of the health issues it raises."

Councillor Pat Agar, also speaking during the council meeting, said: "It's estimated that about eight million people smoke in England and 90 per cent of them started before they were 19, it's quite shocking really.

"We really need to make sure we're not just signing a document here, that we're not just paying it lip service."

During the debate Councillor Jabba Riaz said the authority was "behind the times", saying the dangers of smoking have been known about for years.

He told the room the council should "proactively promote" nicotine replacement therapy.

But Councillor David Wilkinson, cabinet member for safer and stronger communities, said: "This isn't just about signing a piece of paper, there are a number of actions in this that we'll have to take."

It was voted through by all but two councillors, with Conservatives Robert Rowden and Chris Mitchell abstaining.