Proposal to ban smoking in cars carrying children

A plan to ban smoking in cars carrying children is due to be put to a vote in the House of Lords later.

Labour peers are to table an amendment to the Children and Families Bill detailing their proposal for England.

The party says that if it is not passed in this vote, it will be included in its manifesto for the next election.

The Department of Health has said it believes education campaigns are a better way to discourage people from smoking around children.

Smoking was banned in England in workplaces and most enclosed public spaces in July 2007 following similar legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The law prohibited smoking in vehicles used for work.

The amendment being brought by Lord Hunt, Lord Faulkner and Baroness Hughes would make it an offence for drivers of a private vehicle to fail to prevent smoking when a child is present.

Campaigners say the developing lungs of children are much more vulnerable to the effects of second-hand smoke - which can be concentrated in cars - increasing their risk of illnesses that range from asthma and colds to lung cancer.

But the pro-smoking group Forest disputes such claims.

Forest also argues that banning smoking in private vehicles would be almost impossible to enforce and a serious invasion of people's private space.

Calls to prohibit smoking in private vehicles when children are present have been raised in Parliament on several occasions since the 2007 ban came into effect.

In 2011, proposals from Labour MP Alex Cunningham cleared their first legislative hurdle, before facing significant opposition from MPs of all parties.

The following year, Lord Ribeiro introduced a private member's bill to make offenders liable for a £60 fine or attendance at a smoke awareness course. It won approval in the House of Lords, although supporters admitted they did not have government backing for the move.

The Labour amendment before the Lords later was initially proposed by Croydon North MP Steve Reed last April.

He was backed by organisations including the British Heart Foundation, Asthma UK, the Royal College of Paediatrics, and Child Health.

Children's minister Edward Timpson said at the time that a ban "would not be easy to enforce" but the government was researching the issue, and Mr Reed withdrew his amendment.

The Welsh Assembly has said it would consider a ban should an awareness campaign not lead to a drop in children's exposure to second-hand smoke.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, Lib Dem MSP Jim Hume has indicated he will be presenting a bill this year to bring in a ban, while Northern Ireland's health minister has announced plans for a consultation on the issue.