As of October 1 in the United Kingdom, it is illegal to smoke in cars with children.
"Children are more vulnerable and susceptible to the pollutants associated with second-hand smoke, and within the confined space of a car this can be significant," said Naomi Horne, a Macmillan Lead Lung Cancer Nurse at Vale University Health Board in Wales.
"The number of children currently admitted to hospital in Britain with health problems such as recurrent chest infections, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses related to passive smoking is around 9,500. Our hope is that through the ongoing message of the need for harm reduction through such legislation, this number will be reduced and the social acceptance of smoking will diminish still further."
Introducing this legislation was not an easy ride. Teresa Goncalves, Press and Campaigns Officer at the British Lung Foundation (BLF), the organization that led the campaign to pass the law, said it took five years to get to legislation, and met with some resistance in the first two: "People found it quite radical-there were suggestions that you can't police people in their cars, that such a ban would be an infringement of personal liberties, and so on.
"But we had a lot of support from MPs [Members of Parliament] and the Lords so that the debate could finally start. It has been discussed for the last three years in Parliament-consulting over what the regulations are going to be-and it took two years for MPs to agree on final legislation in February this year."
The BLF had the support of many cancer-related charities-including Cancer Research UK. George Butterworth, the charity's Tobacco Control Manager, said: "Banning smoking in cars with children is a great move and sends a clear message that protecting children's health is a priority. Comprehensive tobacco-control measures like this ban, putting tobacco out of sight in shops, as well as putting all tobacco products in plain standardized packaging will protect children from a deadly addiction and save lives."
And, not surprisingly, the ban has garnered widespread approval from the medical profession. For example, Jason Lester, MD, Consultant Clinical Oncologist specializing in lung cancer at Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, said: "The ban on smoking in cars with children is an important step in reducing the burden of smoking-related disease. While an adult is able to decide whether or not to smoke, children exposed to passive smoking do not have that choice. There is clear evidence that breathing in other people's smoke causes cancer in non-smokers.
"In addition, breathing in second-hand smoke is particularly harmful for children, as it is associated with an increased risk of cot death, asthma, chest infections, and even meningitis. This ban will therefore result in a significant improvement in the health of our children, and has my full support."
Richard Steyn, MS, FRCSEd(C-Th), Chair of the UK Lung Cancer Coalition and Consultant Thoracic Surgeon at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, said the Coalition welcomes the smoking ban in private cars carrying children and "strongly supports the Government's drive to protect children and young people from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, particularly in enclosed spaces where it can do most harm."
'Sends Clear Message'
Also commenting for this article, Richard Russell, MBBS, PhD, FRCP, Consultant Respiratory Physician at Southern Healthcare NHS Trust and Lymington Hospital, called the ban important for the messages it delivers: "Of course, the ban will be absolutely beneficial for both adults and children-the car is an enclosed space, which multiplies the effect of smoking, and children are particularly vulnerable with their developing lungs. But a big aspect of this ban is that it sends a clear message to people of all ages that smoking is unhealthy."
The law is also important from an international aspect, he added: "There are huge populations in countries like India and China, with very high incidence rates of smoking, and if we take these measures now, then they will follow."
Smoking and Lung Cancer in the U.K.
More people die from lung cancer than any other cancer in the U.K., where there are over 35,000 deaths from the disease each year-a far greater number than the combined death toll for breast, prostate, bladder, and stomach cancers and leukemia.
Furthermore, despite some improvements in recent years, U.K. treatment and survival rates still lag behind those of other comparable countries in Europe, and patients in Britain are diagnosed with more advanced disease than in many other countries. About 40 percent of lung cancer cases are seen for their first appointment with a specialist only because of an emergency admission to hospital-and so the disease is further advanced and outcomes are poorer.
The battle continues, therefore, for the National Health Service to persuade people that smoking is not good for their health. And while smoking in recent years has been made less visible, it has also been made less convenient and less "normal." So, in the face of outrage from civil libertarians, the government has forged ahead with legislation to curb it.
Cigarette advertising was banned in 2003, and this was followed-after considerable controversy-by a ban on smoking in pubs and other workplaces in 2007, when the smoking age was also raised from 16 to 18. Cigarette vending machines were then banned in 2011; followed by the banning of cigarette displays in large shops in 2012-and in small shops as well, starting in April 2015.
Cigarette Taxes
The tax on cigarettes has risen progressively, including a big increase in 2012, and legislation on standardized, plain packaging for cigarettes is to be introduced in England next May.
Linda Bauld, PhD, who was the government's scientific adviser on tobacco control between 2006 and 10, says that many smokers in her studies ask why the government doesn't just ban cigarettes altogether. But she agrees that it would be almost impossible to achieve that sort of legislation, and then completely impossible to enforce it.
Almost 20% of BritishAdults Still Smoke
According to the most recent statistics available (2013), 18.7 percent of British adults still smoke, which Cancer Research UK wants to reduce to below five percent. After the pub smoking ban in 2007, the proportion of smoking British adults fell by about half a percentage point each year-and since 2013, this figure has increased to a whole percentage point, but CR UK and many others say this is still not fast enough.
So far, the focus of all these bans has been on the adult smoker alone. The new ban on smoking in cars with children will mean that the focus slightly shifts, since the prohibition can be seen as a preventive action in a different way: two thirds of smokers begin their addiction as children, and the single most important factor determining whether they will take up the habit or not is whether the people around them do. If both parents of a child are smokers, then the child is three times more likely to take up the habit than the average child is.
Passive Smoking
Furthermore, a smoking ban in cars with children will not only prevent them from seeing the smoke, but-far more importantly, of course-it will reduce the health risks they are exposed to from passive smoking. Cancer Research UK studies have shown that passive smoking can increase a non-smoker's risk of getting lung cancer by a quarter, and it may also increase the risk of cancers of the larynx and pharynx. For children with their young developing lungs, the risks are multiple.
Details of the Ban on Smoking in Cars
As of October 1, it became illegal to smoke in a vehicle with anyone under the age of 18 present.
* If a driver is caught smoking with children in the car, he/she will be fined [pounds]50 (approximately $77);
* If a passenger is smoking, both the driver and passenger will be fined;
* The law applies to everyone in England and Wales, including those age 17 and those driving with a provisional driving license;
* If the driver is 17-legally still a "child"-the law does not apply if he/she is alone, but does if there is someone else in the car under age 18;
* The law includes any vehicle that is enclosed even partially by a roof, even if the window or sunroof is open, or if the driver sits in the car with the door open; and
* The law does not apply to a convertible car that has the sun roof totally open.