The parliament is proposing a ban on smoking in such cars that have children under 18 in them and that’s not all, there will be a fine of £50 for the person who is smoking in the car. A fine of £50 will be issued to people who smoke or who fail to prevent another person smoking.
MP’s will vote on the plans before the general election next year and once these plans are passed then October 1, 2015 will be the historic day when these changes will come into effect. Those children who are exposed to passive smoking in cars are prone to incur respiratory infections and the numbers are rising at a rapid pace, said Dr Hilary Wareing.
Jane Ellison, the public health minister also said that passive smoking is the biggest threat to the health of children, but we have plans to stop that from happening. She added that the ban on smoking in cars with children will help us to protect those young ones and prevent any harm to their health.
Deborah Arnott is the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health and she expressed her extreme delight over this initiative and urged the government to put – before general election – the regulations on standardised packaging to Parliament. By protecting the children from passive smoking, will eventually protect the children from this deadly addiction.
Some people like Simon Clark, who is the director of smokers’ lobby group Forest, doesn’t agree with Deborah’s thoughts as he strongly believes that what government is about to do is the same as cracking a nut with sledgehammer. Majority of the smokers already know how injurious smoking is in the presence of minors and they prefer not to smoke in such situations. He further added that the regulations are excessive and unnecessary and it’s an attempt to criminalise all those who light a cigarette in a private vehicle.
It will be interesting to know what people think of this ban. Do let us know in the comments section below.
