The BBC is reporting that the police have issued zero fines and just six warnings since smoking was banned in cars carrying children.
The information follows an FOI request to 44 police forces, 39 of which replied.
BBC Breakfast invited Forest to respond with a statement and this is what I gave them:
"This is entirely predictable so we're not in the least bit surprised.
"The police have far better things to do than pull over drivers on suspicion they may be smoking with a child in the car.
"It would take x-ray vision or remarkable intuition to tell if there was a small child in the back of a moving car.
"The overwhelming majority of smokers know it's inconsiderate to smoke in a car carrying children so finding someone who does is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"This is probably one of the most futile and irrelevant laws ever introduced. The Government did it to denormalise smoking but parents who smoke don't need politicians telling them how to behave.
"Laws that are unnecessary or impossible to enforce are not just pointless. They risk bringing the police into disrepute because, through no fault of their own, the police inevitably appear hapless and ineffectual."
I didn't expect them to use more than a sentence or two and I was right. However the single line they used - "This is one of the most futile and irrelevant laws ever introduced" - needed some context.
Instead the programme interviewed two people - a doctor and a police representative. According to the latter an oversight when drafting the legislation had resulted in the police being unable to issue penalty notices. Instead, cases have to be forwarded to the local authority.
PS. The Department of Health is putting a brave face on the stats and is insisting that the priority all along has been to “change behaviour”.
I'll be discussing the subject later on Five Live.
Smoking in cars with children: police 'cannot' enforce ban (BBC News).
Update: Labour MP Alex Cunningham was one of the architects of the ban (if not the architect). He's just tweeted this.
Early slot on @BBCTees to talk about the fact the law against smoking in cars with children can't yet be enforced. Very disappointing.
— Alex Cunningham (@ACunninghamMP) March 15, 2016