A majority of the public wants the NHS to deny obese people surgery until they lose weight but allow smokers an automatic right to treatment even if their condition stems from the use of tobacco, an ICM opinion poll reveals.

The poll, based on a random sample of 1,077 people last month, was commissioned by the journal Nursing Standard, which said it disagreed with the views.

The results in the journal, published by the Royal College of Nursing, show 66% of those questioned thought obese patients should be made to lose weight before any operation for a weight-related illness. Restrictions on treating the seriously overweight were introduced in parts of England last year. They were widely seen as an economy measure to ration care, but NHS chiefs said slimming before surgery could bring medical benefits, including reduced pressure on joints and organs.

There are similar arguments for making smokers quit before heart or lung surgery, but more than two-thirds in the poll said smokers should not be required to alter their behaviour before an NHS operation for smoking-related illness. Lindsey Hayes, RCN public health adviser, said: "Nurses would want to treat all patients equally, regardless of whether or not they had a behaviour-related condition."