No Smoking In Your Own Vehicle

Smoking bans are now in place in all sorts of places, including restaurants, bars, and parks as well as workplaces. Now the group that represents doctors in Britain is calling on the government to snuff out smoking in cars - a step that would go beyond regulations elsewhere.

Absolutely not. Not on my watch. Now in the article I read it mentioned Australia, Canada, and parts of the U.S., have banned smoking in vehicles when children are present. Which I, personally, agree with. But the same 'medical' evidence that Britain is using to try and get this ban in place also proves that the Australian, Canadian, and U.S., laws kind of don't make sense.

If the ban is only in place when a child is actually in the car; Mrs Jones can happily puff away while on the way to school to pick up young Jimmy. But the 'medical' evidence says:

"Smoking in enclosed spaces is especially dangerous. Outdoors, smoke gets carried away on the breeze - one puff and it goes away. But in a car the smoke is recycled. What's more toxic residue from cigarette smoke can linger on surfaces even after the air has cleared."

So, even after the air in the car is allegedly cleared the cigarette smoke lingers. So Mrs Jones is still slowly killing young Jimmy. Which, in turn makes the law, and proposed laws in Britain, pointless.

Plus there is the fact that I am pretty sure the British police will be unable to police such a law anyway. I don't foresee high-speed chases along the M25 for Mrs Jones because an eagle-eyed cop spotted her puffing on a Benson & Hedges while little Jimmy sat in the back seat.

The main thing that worries me in the article is that it doesn't mention how much was spent to work out that cigarette smoke is bad for kids in cars. Everyone, myself as a smoker, knows cigarette smoke is bad. And as an intelligent person I know that in an enclosed place it is even worse. But I don't need a law to tell me that - commonsense tells me that. So as a smoker, with commonsense I don't smoke in vehicles when children are present; and if I know a child will be getting in my car anytime soon when I do smoke in the vehicle I have all the windows, and the sunroof, open.

If a parent needs to be told by law that they are endangering their children's lives by smoking with them in the car I don't think they are really going to care. It comes down to personal responsibility. And, obviously, the more responsible parents will choose not to smoke in the car - or even better just give up smoking so their kids don't see it as 'OK' to smoke.