Smoking in cars with children banned from 1 October 2015

As of 1 October 2015 it is illegal to smoke in private vehicles with someone under 18

Private vehicles must be free from smoke if they are enclosed, there is more than one person present and one of them is under 18.

If you smoke in your car while carrying a child as a passenger you will be liable to a £50 fine.

Why the law is changing

Every time a child breathes in second hand smoke they breathe in thousands of chemicals. This puts them at risk of serious conditions, including:

• asthma
• meningitis
• ear infections
• decreased lung capacity
• bronchitis
• pneumonia
• cancer

Children are especially vulnerable to second hand smoke, because they breathe more rapidly and have less developed airways, lungs and immune systems.

Smoking in cars is particularly harmful to passengers – over 80% of cigarette smoke is invisible and opening windows and doors does not remove its harmful effect.

More than 430,000 children are exposed to second-hand smoke in cars each week and according to the British Lung Foundation 86% of children would like the smoker to stop, yet only 31% actually feel able to ask them to do so.

Get help to quit

Quitting can be hard, but with support from our team of stop smoking specialists, you’re four times more likely to quit for good.

Smokefree Camden offers free expert advice and a range of support to help with quitting smoking.

Find out more

Visit: nhs.uk/smokefree or smokefreelifecamden.co.uk

Call: 0800 1070 401 or 0203 317 3861