British Drivers Banned From Smoking With Children Passengers

From October 1, a new law will come into act, in which car drivers from UK will be banned from smoking in cars. This is similar to a ban in Wales, which aims to protect minors aged below 18 years from second-hand smoke. Scotland too will enforce the ban soon.

Anyone who flouts the law in England could be fined £50, according to BBC. The British Lung Foundation was appreciative about the law, but smokers' group Forest said that it could not be enforced. The law does not apply to anyone who drives alone, or with the convertible car roof removed.

The law came into force in the Commons after 342 MPs voted in favour of the law, even as just 74 voted against it. More than 430,000 children get vulnerable to second-hand smoke in cars each week, according to the British Lung Foundation.

Called 'passive smoking,' it can increase asthma, meningitis as well as cot death, according to public health experts.

Prime Minister David Cameron backs the ban. The official spokesman confirmed that "the time has come" to introduce the new offence to protect and support small children and young people, according to theguardian.com.

Professor Dame Sally Davies said, "We need to protect our children."

Even as many in the public are supportive of the ban, many say that it is an "unnecessary intrusion."

Public Health Minister, Jane Ellison, said: "Three million children are exposed to second hand smoke in cars, putting their health at risk. We know that many of them feel embarrassed or frightened to ask adults to stop smoking which is why the regulations are an important step in protecting children from the harms of secondhand smoke."

The law was celebrated by many, including Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, who said: "This is a tremendous victory. We urge the Government to show the same commitment to introduce standardised packaging for all tobacco products, in order to protect the 200,000 children taking up smoking every year in this country. We are certain that these measures together will prove to be two of the most significant milestones for public health since the smoke-free legislation of 2007."

The naysayers included Simon Clark, director of the smokers' group Forest, who slammed the legislation as excessive.

"The overwhelming majority of smokers know it's inconsiderate to smoke in a car with children and they don't do it. They don't need the state micro-managing their lives," he said. The police won't be able to enforce the law on their own so the government will need a small army of snoopers to report people."