MPs support ban on smoking when children present
BBC News reports:
Car smoking: MPs support ban when children present:
Forest's response:
"We're disappointed but not surprised. The government has been spineless in its response to Labour's initiative.
"Legislation will have very little impact because so few adults still smoke in cars carrying children. Those that do will carry on because it will be very difficult to enforce.
"The overwhelming majority of adult smokers know how to behave towards children and the law should reflect that.
"It shouldn't be used to stigmatise them as potentially unfit parents who can't be trusted to do the right thing without state intervention.
"If you believed everything you heard in the House about the threat to children's health it's a miracle anyone who was a child in the Fifties and Sixties, when a large majority of adults smoked, is still alive.
"Government has banned smoking in public places. Now they're going to ban it in a private place. The home will be next."
I'm now off to do an interview with the BBC News Channel.
After that I'm on Five Live at 23.10 and again on Morning Reports (5.00-5.30).
Somewhere in between I hope to get some sleep.
PS. Things you didn't know. Tony Blackburn told me today that his father was a doctor who smoked 60-a-day.
He added that it wasn't very pleasant when his father smoked in the car (which I can understand) but, to Tony's credit, he was totally impartial on the subject unlike many of his colleagues at the BBC.
The gory details:
Delight as MPs back car smoking ban (Press Association)
Smoking in cars carrying children to be a criminal offence (Daily Mail)
MPs vote in favour of banning smoking in cars with child passengers despite opposition (Huffington Post)
David Cameron backs smoking ban in cars carrying children (Guardian)
MPs vote to ban smoking in cars with children (Sky News)
Car smoking ban 'will be brought in' (BBC News)