Outrage as 'cigs cops' patrol

Smoking police FURY erupted last night over plans for “smoking police” to confront addicts in the street and make them quit. They will pounce on puffers at typical haunts such as bus stops, outside bookies and at shopping centre entrances. Smokers will then be offered breath tests that reveal carbon monoxide levels in the body, to shock them into getting treatment or to giving up. But Neil Rafferty of pro-smoking group Forest branded the cops “health Nazis” and added: “This is an outrageous abuse of freedom and privacy. “It shows the authorities think they have a blank cheque to treat smokers how they want — to harass, humiliate and victimise them.” The 11 smoking cops will patrol Ealing, West London, in a £75,000 project run by the local primary care trust. But even project spokeswoman Fran Pearce admitted: “They will have to be careful when approaching smokers in case they become aggressive. “If someone says no, they will not be pressured to take the test.”