You may have seen the news this week that the House of Lords voted in favour of a ban on smoking in cars with children in England.
Thank you for all your support - we couldn't have done it without you.
But there is still a lot of work to be done. We only have about 6 days before MPs vote on a ban and we need your help.
Act now by asking your MP to support the ban - go to blf.org.uk/SiC
MPs care what you think, so please can you write to your MP and ask them to vote ‘yes’ in the House of Commons. A ‘yes’ vote in Westminster will send a clear message that this is a vital issue to protect children’s health.
If you have already written to your MP previously, thanks, you have helped us get this far - but if you write again today you can remind them just how important this issue is in the days leading up to the vote.
Together we can make a real change for future generations.
Enforcement would be difficult - just as existing laws about talking on a mobile phone whilst driving, smoking in a work vehicle, and wearing seatbelts are difficult to enforce. However, evidence from Australia where similar laws have been put in place suggests it is enforceable.
When compulsory seatbelt-wearing became law, it increased the number of people wearing seatbelts from 25% to 91%. If a ban on smoking in cars has even half that success, think of how many children’s lives that could help.
Yes this has been a success here in Aus,for a few years,people said initially that it wouldent work,but it certainly did,such as the seatbelts did,years ago.Cheers Wendells
It may be difficult to enforce but that is surely not a good enough reason to do nothing.
Re mobile 'phone use we have all seen idiots driving badly whilst using them but then we see on the tv Police pulling folks over for using them and flashing lights on motorway 'put your mobile down'. So I agree with Keven if it helps some kids to be in a smoke free car that can only be a good thing.
I don't feel it's just a legal thing either - just think how we used to 'put up' with folks smoking around us and people using their 'phones in cars - now, possibly the majority, really don't like to be around smoke or see folks using mobiles whilst driving - it is becoming socially unacceptable. Maybe the same will happen if they ban smoking in cars with a child on board.
I have sent mine last week responded to mail from BLF asking members for support from their MPs as we fight our own illness we would not want children suffering the same as we do.
I think it's unenforceable and misguided. Any adult who smokes in a car with children will also smoke at home with their children present, so what is the point? I see people driving using their mobiles, the only time anything seems to be done about that is if there is an accident. Fine any driver smoking for operating a vehicle without due care and attention on the basis that you cannot be in full control with one hand on the wheel and the other on a cig.
AbbyRudi, the problem here is that because the car is such a small, enclosed space the child suffers considerably more than in the home.
Children are exposed to 11 times more second-hand smoke than a smoke-filled pub when a cigarette is smoked in a stationary car with the windows closed. Pollution levels exceed reccommended safety limits even with the windows open. In a car the child is strapped in with no room to escape the toxins, whereas in a home they have the ability to move to a different room.
I understand that, however, it's a futile exercise. You cannot legislate common sense and responsible behaviour, which this attempts to do. (No smoking in pubs now!)
BLF figures show that more than 430,000 children are exposed to second hand smoke at least once a week in the family car, so although it seems like common sense to many of us it is clear than there are hundreds of thousands that feel it is acceptable to smoke in a car with children in board. If the proposed law can protect just a small percentage of those, think of how many children’s lives that could help.
Most laws are common sense and responsible behaviour - I'm sure everybody agrees it is responsible behaviour not to pickpocket strangers in the street, for example. The law acts to enforce responsible behaviour.
I am really shocked at the amount of negativity regarding enforcement and rights of the smokers when listening to discussions. Having bronchiectasis since babyhood in 1948 I have obviously been surrounded by smoke as a child on buses,then work and always in hospital loos. Even travelling on 2 buses twice a week from school from 11 yrs old to do physio and excercise sessions at the hospital - buses were full of smoke - how weird is that. I am sure I would not have spent the amount of time in hospital as a child I did had there been no smoking in public places as there is today.
So let's move forward and make sure our children and following generations get as much protection as possible. Obviously I have never smoked myself but I find it hard to understand why someone who smokes can't do so before they set off and stop as frequently as they need to.
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