Smoking ban to protect children in cars
Print Edition
A BAN on smoking in cars while children are present came into effect in England and Wales yesterday, though police said it will be “extremely challenging” to enforce.
Under the changes, anyone found to be smoking with a passenger under 18 in a vehicle can be fined 50 pounds (US$76).
A driver who fails to stop a passenger smoking in the same circumstances is also liable to be fined, in legislation aimed at protecting children from the effects of passive smoking.
The Scottish parliament is considering bringing in a similar law next year.
Sally Davies, England’s chief medical officer for England, hailed the “landmark” legislation. “Smoking just a single cigarette in a vehicle exposes children to high levels of air pollutants and cancer-causing chemicals like arsenic, formaldehyde and tar,” she said.
But Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation which represents rank and file officers, said the ban would be “extremely challenging” to enforce.
“Our officers are telling us they cannot get to some quite serious incidents like burglaries ... how are we going to resource this?” he said.
“This is largely a public health issue ... we should be getting on with the job of being police officers,” he added.
The changes follow an experiment by Newcastle University which found that levels of dangerous chemicals were more than 100 times higher than recommended safety guidelines when a passenger was smoking — even when there were windows open.
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