Plaid Cymru AM Lindsay Whittle has said a law banning people from smoking in cars carrying children should be introduced.
First Minister Carwyn Jones announced in July that Wales could be the first European country to introduce such a ban and that legislation could be considered later in the current five-year Assembly. However, Health Minister Lesley Griffiths has now said no legislation for a ban will be passed in this Assembly term.
Speaking during a recent debate in the National Assembly, Mr Whittle, who represents South Wales East, said: “We have had debates about stopping the piercing of children and we have had debates about stopping the smacking of children, but it seems that it is okay to expose them to the possible danger of lung cancer. I really cannot get my head around that.
“We should take strong action now to pave the way for the banning of smoking in cars I am not a total anti-smoking fascist. I do not support a ban on people smoking in their own cars, because that would perhaps be a step too far. They know the dangers of smoking, but their children do not and they are the ones who we have to protect. Apart from the fact that it is a health hazard inflicted upon children, driving while smoking is an obvious example of perhaps driving without due care and attention.
“By focusing our attention on children, we stand a better chance of hitting the target of reducing the number of adults who smoke in the long term. For now, however, we should not be talking about a target of 16 per cent of the population smoking by 2020. That overall figure hides the very wide gap between smoking rates in lower-income households and in higher-income households. We should instead aim in particular to reduce the percentage of people who smoke in the more deprived areas of Wales, because health levels in those areas, as we know, are much poorer.”
Health Minister Lesley Griffiths has confirmed a campaign will run about the effects of second-hand smoke in cars but legislation to stop people smoking in cars carrying children will not be introduced during this Assembly term.