Car smoking ban is about a "change in culture" not prosecutions

Thursday 29 September 2016

There have been no prosecutions since Jersey became the first place in Britain to ban smoking in a car carrying children - but Health are still confident it has been a success.

Before the ban came into force a year ago, a schools survey showed that one-in-ten secondary school students in years eight and 10 were being exposed to second-hand smoke in cars at least once a week.

But a recent Freedom of Information request revealed that since the ban came into force last September, no one has been prosecuted. 

The Health department says the point of the ban is actually to change the culture, and improve the statistics showing how many children are exposed to second-hand smoke, rather than generating prosecutions. 

Head of Health Improvement Martin Knight said: "The aim of the law change is very much about protecting the young lives that are the future of our Island. We will be measuring the outcomes from the law change primarily on the results from the young people’s health and lifestyle survey due for spring 2018. We would hope and expect to see a reduction from the findings of the previous survey.

"The evidence for prohibiting smoking in motor vehicles carrying anyone under the age of 18 is convincing. Levels of second-hand smoke in cars can be extremely high because of the confined area in which the smoke is circulated.  Several studies have measured tobacco smoke pollutants in vehicles and found high levels, even in those vehicles that had been moderately ventilated.

"The immediate effects of being exposed to second-hand smoke can include eye and throat irritation, dizziness, headaches, coughing and nausea. In addition, research has demonstrated that children specifically exposed to second-hand smoke in cars have up to twice the risk of a persistent wheeze, as well as increased risks of developing bronchitis and chronic bronchitis, compared to children who have not been exposed."

Mr Knight said Health worked to educate drivers on the health risks as the ban came into force and at the time estimated that as many as 1,800 young people in Jersey may have been being exposed to second-hand smoke on a weekly basis.

He said: "Legislation is as much about encouraging and supporting a change in culture. The workplace restrictions on smoking are a great example of this and have similarly led to very low levels of prosecution.

"These regulations can be mostly enforced through opportunistic policing, in the same way that existing laws about child car seats, smoking in a work vehicle, or not wearing a seatbelt are enforced. However, this law is not designed to turn smokers into criminals, it is about considered and measured approaches that work to protect children by bringing about changes in smoking behaviour."