A ban on people smoking in cars carrying children will be introduced in Wales on October 1 this year, the Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford has announced.
People caught flouting the ban, if it is approved by AMs, will face a £50 on-the-spot fine.
A consultation about a proposed ban ran between September 11 and October 24 last year. A total of 86% of the respondents said smoking in private vehicles should be prohibited when children under the age of 18 are present.
The changes will become part of the existing smoke-free laws. Regulations will be introduced before AMs in the summer for them to vote on.
Enforcement of the proposed new law will largely be taken forward by police officers in conjunction with their wider functions on road safety. A £50 on-the-spot fine will apply to people caught flouting the new law.
The Welsh Government said smoking caused serious harm to the health of smokers and to non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke.
Smoking continues to be the largest single preventable cause of ill health and premature death in Wales, causing around 5,450 deaths in Wales in 2010.
Professor Drakeford said: “Children and young people have the right to breathe clean air and enjoy smoke-free environments.
“Protecting children from exposure to second-hand smoke will help give them the best start in life. Exposure to second-hand smoke is a substantial threat to children’s health; it can leave them vulnerable to a variety of health conditions such as lower respiratory tract infections, asthma, middle ear disease and other serious infections.
“Introducing regulations to stop people smoking in cars carrying children will help us to do this.”
Wales’ Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ruth Hussey added: “Children cannot escape from the toxic chemicals contained in second-hand smoke when travelling in vehicles.
“Changing the law to ban smoking in cars carrying children will protect them from the health harms associated with exposure to second-hand smoke in private vehicles, encourage action by smokers to protect children from second-hand smoke and lead to a reduction in health conditions in children caused by exposure to second-hand smoke.”
Lindsay Whittle, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales East, who has campaigned for action, said: “I’m pleased that smoking in cars when children are present will be banned. This is good news for children and public health in general. There was overwhelming support for a ban among the general public because of the harmful impact of smoking.
“Many people who smoke are considerate when around children in cars but, unfortunately, not all. That is why a ban needed to be imposed.”
I look forward to future administrations that will repeal these unenforcable laws and (this is just one example) and deal with the real issues that concern Welsh people such as why Wales is the poorest part of the UK and our health provision lags far behind that of England.
Perhaps these AMs feel that the police do not have enough to do and want to increase their work load. Soon police will be wasting time interviewing parents that have been denounced by their children for slapping them on the back of their legs for being naughty.
Yes this seems to be more bureaucracy for the sake of it, more legilaslation aimed directly at the minority of the population and those trying to justify their existence and salary by cherry picking some easy issues rather than tackle the difficult ones, but why isn’t smoking in vehicles banned altogether. It is crazy that it is legal for somebody to light up a cigarette whilst driving at 70mph down the outside lane of a motorway ( unless there is a child in your car ) , how many accidents have been caused by somebody dropping a burning cigarette or hot ash on themselves whilst driving a motor vehicle, if your going to ban smoking in cars then surely a total ban would be better.
The same could be said of just about any action in a car that is not related to the task in hand, eating, drinking, changing a radio station, loading a CD, listening to a Sat Nav and so on. If we are going to ban an activity in cars then surely it is hands free mobile phones? How can you pay attention to driving when being told off by your boss, arguing with your spouse or taking part in a phone meeting. Of course hand held sets will not be banned because they are present in just about every AMs car.
No, you are right in the first lines of your comment, “more bureaucracy for the sake of it, more legilaslation aimed directly
at the minority of the population and those trying to justify their
existence and salary by cherry picking some easy issues rather than
tackle the difficult ones”
The real problem with those who smoke in enclosed places do indeed cause harm to others who choose not to smoke, particularly harmful to young, developing, lungs, and I would have thought that to do so inside a car is an obvious source of contaminants from second hand smoking if inhaled by young lungs. I dont think anyone can disagree with that?
I also agree with the point Councillor Richard Williams makes, which I think is a very powerful argument to do with the rights of the individual, and, the ever increasing arrosion of those rights by politicians. I would however ask Richard to consider the rights of children with young lungs not to be effected and being subjected to other people deliberatly expelling poisonous cancergenics directly into the air they are `forced` to breath whilst travelling in carswith smoking parents.
I am sure that this debate reflects, is it more important to protect peoples rights to freedom, to do whatever they like without interference, so long as it is legal?, and, in so doing harm their children in the process?, or to be told what is good for us by policians?