Written question asked by Lord Laird (Ulster Unionist Party), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Thornton (Labour) on Tuesday, 6 April 2010.

Smoking

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose to make smoking in cars which contain children an offence.

Answer: We strongly urge people to stop smoking in cars, especially those used to transport children. We have no plans to legislate on this at present but we are committed to reviewing the smoke-free law later this year. As part of that review we will take into consideration the recommendations on ending smoking in cars which were included in the report Passive Smoking and Children published by the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians on 24 March. As set out in A Smokefree Future, a copy of which has been placed in the Library, we will continue to raise awareness about the harms of secondhand smoke. We will continue to support people to make their homes and their cars smoke free. We will focus our efforts on communities with the highest smoking rates so as to have the greatest impact on children's exposure to secondhand smoke.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 3128; 718 c417-8WA
Session: 2009-10
Related items: Deposited Paper DEP2010-1067
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Deposited papers
House of Lords
Subjects: Children Cars Smoking
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk