motoring guide

Car smoking ban mooted by BMA

That habit could be at greater risk of becoming a thing of the past. This is after the British Medical Association (BMA) put forward its belief that smoking should be banned not only in public places such as bars and pubs, but also in private cars.

Smoking is currently banned in vehicles which could be defined as workplaces which includes vehicles such as taxis, delivery lorries and builders' vans however the BMA believes that should be extended to personal cars also.

The association claims that the levels of toxins in a car can be up to 11 times higher than those levels that would be found in a smoky bar. This is obviously a bar prior to the introduction of the smoking ban, but the enclosed nature of a car would back up these statistics and suggest that private, personal cars could be next on the smoking hit list.

The only downfall which the government could face should they try to bring in the ban is that it could be argued that a personal car is exactly that, personal. The government could be risking a serious drop in popularity with smokers wishing to go about their habit without affecting others and with recent research suggesting around a fifth of adults smoke, it could prove risky.

A vox-pop of the public carried out by the BBC quoted one man as saying: "What sort of society are we in where we have to limit what people can and can't do in their own cars? It's ridiculous, what's next after that? It's just big brother."

Another interviewee said: "Well, I think if you're on your own in the car then that's [smoking] entirely up to you but if you've got children in the car or other people in the car then that's another matter. I think you do have to take into consideration your children's health especially."

This defence would not be likely to cut much mustard with the BMA however, as it claims any legislation it calls for would be to protect others in and around the car from second-hand smoke.

Neither the English nor Scottish government are said to be actively considering the legislation, despite the BMA calling for an outright ban on smoking in cars.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's director of professional activities, said that smoking causes over 80,000 deaths every year in England and that action was needed.

Dr Nathanson said: "The UK made a huge step forward in the fight against tobacco by banning smoking in all enclosed public places, but more can still be done.

"We are calling on UK governments to take the bold and courageous step of banning smoking in private vehicles. The evidence for extending the smoke-free legislation is compelling."

A report carried out by a cross-party group of MPs and peers in response to the calls said that non-legislative options should be considered were anything to be done about the problem.

The plans were labelled "counterproductive" by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health who claimed that a wider consensus would be across society before taking such as step.

This is backed up by comments from a spokesman for the Department of Health in England which stated: "We do not believe that legislation is the most effective way to encourage people to change their behaviour."

It appears that the group favours a broader consultation on how to tackle smoking in cars which would investigate what effect an outright ban would have. This would also involved seeing if more could be achieved by raising awareness rather than simply laying down the law.

It has claimed that an outright ban would protect young people who travel alongside smokers in confined spaces as they would suffer more from the pollutants emitted from cigarettes.

The association claims that young people are more prone to the damaging effects that second-hand smoke can have because they appear to absorb more pollutants and their less-developed immune systems struggle to cope.

Their research showed that second-hand smoke can contribute to a range of conditions such as sudden infant death syndrome, asthma and impaired lung function.

It is this aspect of protecting young people or children that many countries have already adopted. Many nations around the world have already set out to protect young passengers but have also stopped short of completely banning smoking in cars.

Some parts of Canada, the US and Australia, as well as the whole of South Africa already have legislation in place to prohibit the practice of smoking near to children. It appears that if the UK are to introduce anything to prohibit the practice then it will be more of a teaching and education-based set of measures rather than downright laws and legislation.

Smokers' lobby group Forest also had their say and unsurprisingly condemned the plans saying that said there was "no justification" for a ban at all. The group's director, Simon Clark, told the BBC: "Legislation is a gross overreaction. What next, a ban on smoking in the home?"

The admission from the parliamentary committee that legislation was unlikely to be the option as well as the negative reaction it would receive from both smokers and non-smokers would rules this out. However, it does set out a precedent that the government and top bodies are looking at the issue of smoking in cars and this may not be the last we hear of it.

13 Dec 2011