MPs vote to ban smoking in cars with children present

A representative from a smokers' group has said the law should not be used to "stigmatise smokers as potentially unfit parents" after MPs approved plans to ban smoking in cars carrying children.

Simon Clark, director of the smokers' group Forest, said he was "disappointed but not surprised" by the result and warned that the Government will ban smoking in the home next:

Read: MPs hail 'massive victory' after smoking plans approved

Shadow public health minister Luciana Berger has welcomed the result of a vote to ban smoking in cars with children as a "great victory for child health", but warned ministers not to "kick this into into the long grass".

"This is a great victory for child health which will benefit hundreds of thousands of young people across our country. It is a matter of child protection, not adult choice," the MP said.

"A time-limited consultation may be necessary on the practical details of implementation, but we will be watching closely to ensure the Government don't try and kick this into the long grass."

Some MPs have questioned how the plans will be enforced with some criticising the plans as a "nanny state" ban.

MPs have raised questions as to how the ban on smoking in cars carrying children will be enforced, with some criticising the plans as a "nanny state" ban.

The Health Secretary will be given the power to impose a ban despite the opposition.

Read: Medical charities 'delighted' with smoking ban result

Medical charities have said they are "delighted" that MPs voted to approve plans to ban smoking in cars carrying children.

The British Lung Foundation estimate that more than 430,000 children aged between 11 and 15 are exposed to second-hand smoke in cars every week.

"Having campaigned on this issue for many years, we're absolutely delighted that MPs have backed the ban on smoking in cars carrying children," Dr Penny Woods, the charity's chief executive said.

"This could prove a great leap forward for the health of our nation's children.The introduction of a law that would help prevent hundreds of thousands of children from being exposed to second-hand smoke in the car is now within reach.

Read: MPs hail 'massive victory' after smoking plans approved

MPs have hailed plans to ban smoking in cars carrying children after it was overwhelmingly voted through in the Commons.

Despite opposition from some Conservative MPs, including Cabinet members, MPs approved the ban by 376 votes to 107.

MPs have voted overwhelmingly in favour of plans to ban smoking in cars carrying children by 376 votes to 107, a majority of 269.

Shadow public health minister Luciana Berger has said those opposed to a ban on smoking in cars carrying children are the same people who railed against the introduction of laws enforcing seatbelt use throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

The Labour MP, who is urging her Commons colleagues to vote in favour of the ban, said health figures suggest around half a million children are exposed to second hand smoke in the back of the car on a weekly basis.

Critics of the anti-smoking legislation, though, have said such a ban cannot be implemented or will be ineffective - a similar argument, Ms Berger said, that was used to oppose seatbelt laws.

She admitted that "we don't have the exact specifics about how it will work in practice", but said MPs will look to "states in the US," plus "Canada, Australia and South Africa", to see how their equivalent laws are targeting offenders.

MPs have been tweeting their intentions ahead of today's vote in the House of Commons on a legal ban on people smoking in cars carrying children.

The Commons is expected to vote in favour of the ban, though Prime Minister David Cameron - who has declined to share his view on the issue - is set to miss the vote as he remains involved in the Government's response to the floods crisis in the South West of England.

Read: Boris Johnson tells colleagues to back 'bossyboots brigade' on smoking ban

Boris Johnson has used his column in the Daily Telegraph to appeal to party colleagues to accept the "bossyboots brigade" he so often rails against are right in the case of a smoking ban in cars where children are present.

"Surely to goodness - you might say - people these days are aware of the problem of passive smoking? Surely all smokers know that they shouldn't be puffing away in a car, while the pink defenceless lungs of kids are sucking in the evil vapours?" he wrote.

"Alas, I am afraid that people either don't know, or don't care enough.""These kids cannot protest, and very often the smoker in the vehicle lacks the will to stub it out. "This law would give that smoker that extra legal imperative to obey their conscience and do the right thing."

Rejecting critics' claims that it would divert police resources from more serious crimes, he said it would be "largely enforced by the natural social pressure of disapproval backed by law".

The chair of the Royal College of Physicians' tobacco advisory group, John Britton, says the RCP is calling on MPs to support "this important health amendment".