A council is calling on its MPs to back a complete ban on smoking in public places.

Brighton and Hove City Council passed a notice of motion calling on the city's three Labour MPs to vote for a comprehensive ban when the issue comes before Parliament later this year.

Conservative councillor Ann Norman, who proposed the motion, said: "A ban on smoking in public places will start sending across the right message.

Smoking is not cool, does not make you more attractive and is a danger to our health."

Coun Norman said Brighton and Hove's public health director had estimated that up to half of residents in deprived areas of the city were smokers.

Labour councillor Vince Meegan said smoking killed tens of thousands of people in the UK and millions of people around the world every year.

Ex-smoker Councillor Brian Fitch, also Labour, said stopping people smoke in some areas would help them give up.

The motion, which was amended by Labour and the Liberal Democrats to remove criticisms of the Government's preferred partial ban on smoking in pubs which sold food, read: "This council requests that the three MPs support a comprehensive ban and urges them to vote accordingly when the matter comes before the House."

Conservative Geoffrey Theobald said it would be "nearly impossible and very expensive" to enforce a partial ban.

Three councillors voted against the motion, including Tory Peter Willows, who said:

"We live in a nanny state where this Government tells people what to do and how to do it.

"Unfortunately my colleagues have not thought this one through."

Independent member Anne Giebeler said: "There should be areas where you smoke and areas where you don't. We need freedom of choice."

In the Big Smoke survey, carried out by Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust in 2004, 79 per cent of respondents said they would support a law to make all work places smoke free.