Simon Cowell reportedly pays £100 per cigarette so that he can smoke in the X Factor studios

We all know what amounts to a sum of money to us is merely loose change to Simon Cowell.

And according to the* Sunday Mirror*, Cowell forks out £100 per ciggy in fines so that he can smoke on the X Factor set.

An X Factor insider told how over the course of the show, Simon’s racked up a bill within the thousands due to his disdain for the natural environment. “Over the course of a series we're talking about literally thousands of pounds.”

We get that it’s cold out there Si, but come out now, think what you could do with that money. We could certainly think of a few ways to spend it.

Due to smoking bans inside, the law states that anyone smoking in the workplace can be fined up to £200 for lighting up. But Simon walks on the wild side of life as we know.

The source explained: “Rather than wait until after the show and go outside like everybody else, Simon uses the advert breaks - but because they're so short he never quite makes it outside.”

Simon hasn’t been shy about his habit with the old tobacco stick before. In 2013, he spoke to chat show host Chelsea Handler, saying:

Which is something that makes us feel about as awkward as walking in on our parents, ahem, ‘wrestling.’

More recently, Simon told The Mirror that he has cut down his 40-a-day habit after the arrival of his son, Eric. He said:

“It is my worst vice… this is the one thing I would find very difficult to give up because I do love a cigarette. A cigarette and a beer.”

Well, we hope there’s no beer chugging in the ad breaks too, Si.