The effect of smoking on your business could be substantial.

Recent assessments suggest the cost of smoking to business and the local economy in Yorkshire and the Humber could be £1.2 billion, made up of premature deaths of valued employees, smoking-related sick days and loss of productivity due to smoking breaks.

Smoke-free premises could also lower your fire risks, reduce staff friction and insurance premiums and fulfil your legal obligations to protect staff from toxic substances.

So, bearing this in mind, you want to make your business smoke-free.

The good intentions are there, but how do you put them into practice without rattling the smokers among your workforce?

The first step is to draw up a workplace smoking policy, which does not focus on stopping people smoking, but on protecting the health of those who choose not to.

Yes To Clean Air, launched by Selby and York Primary Care Trust and the Evening Press, aims to help businesses become smoke-free.

A policy should consider the needs of smokers, while acknowledging that non-smokers' rights to be protected from the dangers of second-hand smoke outweigh the need for easing smokers' withdrawal symptoms.

Try this step-by-step guide as a starting point:

Set up a working party, including trade unions, staff, smokers, human resources, health and safety staff

Consult with your staff

Devise a draft policy (template available at the website www.ash.co.uk)

Circulate the draft policy for consultation

Revise policy, taking into consideration comments from the consultation

Identify a start date; widely publicise it well in advance

Contact your local NHS stop smoking service to make arrangements to help staff who want to quit the habit

Monitor and review the policy regularly.

Businesses large or small can sign up to receive help and support to draw up a no-smoking policy for their work place.

Staff will be given help and support to give up smoking if they choose to.

:: A BAN on smoking could attract custom, says Market Town Taverns, of Knaresborough.

The group has made eight out of its nine taverns smoke-free.

There are now plans to open a bar in York, which would also be smoke-free.

Operations director Gil Richardson said consultation included written and verbal comments from customers, questionnaires and discussions with staff, before the decision was taken.

Gil said the company knew it would lose some custom from heavy smokers, but it has benefited from non-smokers seeking out its bars instead.

She said: "We spent a lot of time talking to people to see what they wanted.

"Overwhelmingly, people were in favour of us becoming completely smoke-free. We did have some people say they'd never come back, but then some members of staff say that it was their reason to stop smoking."

Updated: 10:55 Wednesday, June 22, 2005