Most smokers want ban in cars

NINE OUT of 10 (89%) of smokers say lighting up a cigarette or any form of tobacco should be banned in cars.

Following on from the Welsh government’s announcement that it would outlaw smoking in cars where there are children as passengers, a study shows evens smokers think puffing on a cigarette in a car is not acceptable.

Research carried out by Flexed shows 89% of smokers support a complete ban and 96% of non-smokers believe smoking in cars should be outlawed.

Some smokers said they were in favour of the ban as it might help them to quit smoking, while only a tiny minority said it was an erosion of their civil liberties to impose a ban.

Studies show that smoking is a distraction activity that can be just as disruptive to driver concentration as using a phone at the wheel and that smokers are 1.5 times more likely to have a motoring accident than a non-smoker.

Johnny Ratcliffe of Flexed said: ‘It's already forbidden in company-owned cars, lorries and vans, and it's about time that the law was made the same for everybody.’

He added: ‘It's not just about the health benefits to drivers and passengers, even though that's a major consideration. We're also concerned that cigarette smoking is also a significant cause of accidents that a ban could easily avert.’

By Press Association reporters