Pharmacia and Upjohn, a drug company selling nicotine replacement aids, had offered the cash to the confessed heavy smoker Warne, who has vowed to kick the habit, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported today.

The paper said Warne would have four months to beat his cigarette addiction as part of promotion by the drug company. ``I am giving up smoking as my new year's resolution for the benefit of myself and my family,'' the paper quoted Warne as saying.

``We need the support of family and friends around us and I invite all new year quitters and their supporters to join me to show our commitment to quit,'' said the 29-year-old cricketer who has been criticised for smoking in public.

Leanne Spratt from Pharmacia and Upjohn said the company wanted a celebrity to spur on others. ``We did research involving focus groups of smokersand they often said if someone like Warney did, they would do too,'' she told the paper. The paper said that while the company admitted Warne was being paid to give up smoking, it denied reports from reliable sources that it was A$200,000.