Adults should be banned from smoking in cars when children are passengers, the new head of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has said.
Professor Terence Stephenson said: "You can’t inflict this on your colleagues any more. Why should we treat our children’s health as a lower priority? Why on earth would you light up in your car whilst your children are sitting happily in the back?"
He said the Canadian province of New Brunswick, California, South Australia and Cyprus had already introduced such legislation successfully.
In 2007, Road Safety GB campaigned for a ban on drivers smoking for a different reason – because of the danger of distraction.
A Department of Health spokesman said it would look at whether current anti-smoking laws needed to be extended. He added: "We would always strongly recommend that people do not smoke in cars, especially those used to transport children."
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