Tuesday
Nov152011
BMA wants smoking ban to include private vehicles
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 21:15 The worst kept secret in Britain will be 'revealed' at midnight tonight.
Yes, the British Medical Association wants to ban smoking in all cars, not just those with children present.
I am currently on my way home from Television Centre in west London where I recorded an interview for BBC News (standing in the car park, naturally).
Earlier today Forest was also invited to give quotes to BBC News Online and ITV Daybreak.
Tomorrow morning I shall be back at Television Centre for interviews with Five Live Breakfast (7.10), the Today programme (7.30) and BBC Breakfast (8.10). Well, that's the plan.
Alarm set for 4.00am. Watch this space.
Reader Comments (22)
Good luck!
I must get the rear windows of my car blacked out . . . . .
I say.."BRING IT ON!!!" OK, let's have such a ban. It will only re-enforce to nonsensical nature of the smoking ban.
There is a statement in the highway code that smoking is a 'distraction'. I do not know how that statement got into the highway code, but I am sure that it is true....but only if it IS true. How can a person writing a note in highway code know whether or not, to any specific person, smoking is a distraction? It is not a distraction in itself. Such statements are dangerous in the highway code.
Cunningham MP claimed that a ban on smoking in cars would be of enormous benefit to vulnerable children. Erm...which children are vulnerable, Mr Cunningham? How do you define 'vulnerable to tobacco smoke?
It really is time that our Gov disassociated itself from The International Convention on Tobacco Control'. Viewed seriously, the whole idea is nonsense. Think about the phrase - 'Tobacco Control'. The only way to control tobacco is via the plant itself or the process of making tobacco from the plant. 'Tobacco Control' as implied is not 'tobacco control' at all - it is control of
'People who Enjoy Tobacco'. That is what a ban on smoking in cars will be.
'Carthago delendum est' - 'Carthage must be destroyed' - comes to mind. The only way to rid our body politic of the poison of prohibition and proscription is to destroy the whole system from the top down.
Heard this on R4 news this morning. It focussed on the health hazard which becomes incredibly great in such a confined space.
On what grounds are they justifying banning smoking in a car in with only the driver. They're not seriously invoking the nonsense that SHS is more dangerous than active smoking, are they?
At the rate that parliament is picking on motorists, I see no reason for considering such a ban. Insurance has gone up. Road tax has gone up and now - they intend to increase the duty on fuel. Soon - no one will be able to afford to use a car in the first place.
I think its about time these morons started to think about the consequences of their stupidty.
Yes I watched it on the BBC this morning. A self opininated bigot being interviewed stating all the advantages of banning smoking in cars. When for Gods sake will these idiots give up ???
I was just on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. As suspected, they didn't care that the "study" didn't even exist and carried offensive smokerphobic comments from the audience like smokers stink :(
"a good day to bury bad news"
'Reduced Ignition Propensity' (RIP) cigarettes become mandatory tomorrow.
http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/0/3B8183A59C0C25C880257949004336EC
Ms Arnott said on Radio Five that she wants to stop smoking completely then tried to deny that she said it.
I f you are at a loose end I am also on BBC Humberside at 12.10.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_humberside
Smokers DO stink. It's only other smokers who don't realise it.
"Smokers DO stink"
Mea bleeding Culpa. Funny how it's only non smokers with their physiological deficiency that think this. And no doubt you consider you smell like an Angel's fart? Away and change your socks before your own wondrous odours overpower you.
Promise I will not lobby for a ban because your choice of smell, actually, stinks. Turd!
Andrew, we know we smell of smoke. My dad always smelled of smoke when I was a child. I quite liked it. I loved the smell of a pub one of my relatives owned. Some of us like the smell of smoke. Also, non smokers marry smokers, so for some of you it's not that bad. I think what you are trying to say is that you do not like the smell of smokers. Now go to a curry recipe website and tell them they stink.
Simon, you should have corrected Nicky Campbell when he referred to Forest as a pro smoking organisation.
Andrew - what gives you people the right to be so damn offensive? Smell is subjective. Not everyone hates smoke as much as your lot would pretend because you suffer from Anti-smoker dysfunction syndrome.
Personally that pious stench of sanctimony always sticks in my craw. Please mate, go take a shower and heal thyself.
Hi Simon
Well done, keep it up. :-)
GS.
Hello Andrew, another paid shill sitting at his computer waiting for his surveillance software to tell him that smoking has been mentioned somewhere, by someone. Don't bother to read the post Andrew just spew out the spite you have been paid to spew.
Simon - Can you tell me where your post is for the MPs and Peers who voted for the smoking ban?
Thank you.
I will be the BBC News Channel tonight at 8.20 talking about smoking and road safety. I think it is Sky channel 503.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10318089
Incidentally, has anybody noticed that one of the objectives of the current ASH strategic plan (see http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_808.pdf) in terms of strategic priorities for advocacy and policy development (see page 12) is "To be sensitive to the concerns of the smoker". Is it April the 1st already?
@Andrew
As already mentioned, smell is subjective.
As a child, I loved the smell of tobacco smoke. That particular smell, and "stink" were worlds apart.
You should perhaps re-assess your approach to life and how you interact with your fellow man. We really don't need to be filled with bile. Tolerance isn't so hard. Most of us manage it with no effort at all. Try it for a while. You will probably find your life improves considerably. People might even start to like you.
I thought that one of the reasons stated (and recorded in Hansard) during the debate on the Health Act 2006 as to why the original smoking ban did not include private cars, homes and “temporary” homes (such as hotel rooms and prison cells) was that there were concerns that extending the ban to these areas might be in breach of the European Human Rights Act which attempts to limit the intrusion of public bodies/legislation into the private lives of members of the public.
At the very least it would be interesting to see whether the BMA and other supporting organisations such as ASH and the BLF have considered this. And, if not, then why not (as clearly even MPs in their little dreamworld of the Palace of Westminster were able to see that this might post a problem); and if so, then is this because they are genuinely confident that their proposed new rules are not in breach of the Act (thus contravening the views of MPs), or are they (more likely) simply confident that no smoker will be in a position to call them on it in the courts? My money would be on the latter, but it would be interesting to see their response in any case.
Thanks for directing me to the post I asked for SC.