I was on BBC Three Counties Radio this morning.
I was invited to discuss a report in this morning's Telegraph – Car smoking ban farce as Met nets no prosecutions.
Also on the programme was Deborah Arnott. The CEO of ASH made it very clear that a ban on smoking in all private vehicles is the next target, just as we predicted.
Her argument focussed on the fact that because it's difficult if not impossible for the police to check whether a child is in the back of a moving car, the only solution is to ban smoking in all cars – even if the driver is on his own with no passengers.
She also threw in the suggestion that smoking while driving is as dangerous as driving while using a mobile phone.
To the best of my knowledge is there is no evidence of a single accident being caused by smoking while driving.
I can't say such an accident has never happened but the police don't keep a record of it which suggests it's not a serious issue. And if it was a problem it's inconceivable that insurance premiums for people who smoke while driving would not have soared in an effort to deter them.
Anyway, ASH never let facts get in the way of legislation so we'd better prepare ourselves for another costly and time-consuming battle.