Next time when you will drive your vehicle with children inside, make sure you are not smoking, or you have to pay fine.
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Sergeant Mike Stubbs, chair of the Federation, said: “This is clearly a well intentioned piece of legislation and I hope it will persuade a few people to change their behaviour”.
A recent survey revealed that ending smoking in cars with children is supported by 85% of adults in the East of England households (ASH YouGov Smokefree GB Survey 2015). Another woman agreed even though she’s a smoker herself. Under the ban both the driver and the smoker can be fined £50 if anyone smokes in a vehicle with a person who is under 18.
Issuing warnings instead of fines will allow people to become aware of the new law and the offences that come with it.
The National Police Chief’s Council said that they will be lenient in the first three months.
Inspector Dave Barf, of North Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Group, said: “We will be following the guidance issued and acting upon the new legislation and enforcing when reasonable and necessary”.
Penny Woods, chief of the British Lung Foundation, said the law brings England and Wales into line with other countries that have taken similar measures.
The ban will protect young people from the dangers of second-hand smoke, but a few smoking advocates think that people should not be forced to obey the new regulation.
Anti-smoking campaigners have called the vehicle smoking ban the most significant step forward since smoking in public places was banned in the United Kingdom in 2007.
Law enforcement might prefer dealing with smoking guns rather than smoking drivers, but it’s not up to them to decide which laws must be applied. Clark argued. “The authorities, especially the police, must have better things to do”. “The reality of the situation is we are struggling to attend burglaries”.
“Our officers are telling us they cannot get to a few quite serious incidents like burglaries… how are we going to resource this?” he asked, saying that the policing budget had been cut by 25 percent in four years.
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It is estimated that 60,000 children are exposed to second-hand smoke during auto rides each week in Scotland.
