Smoking in cars with kids to be banned

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Smoking in cars carrying children under 18 is to be banned in Jersey, even though the Health Minister accepted it would be very difficult to enforce.

Trinity Deputy Anne Pryke brought the proposal to the States this morning, saying that almost 80% of Islanders who responded to a recent consultation supported the move, which was, "...less about enforcement and more about compliance". She went on to say that the success of the ban would be measured by the number of children who it protected, rather than the actual number of prosecutions for people breaking it.

Her fellow politicians agreed, supporting the ban by 42 votes in favour, and four against.

In the report accompanying the proposition, the minister wrote: “Despite education and media campaigns regarding the known harms of exposure to second-hand smoke, children are still exposed to the harmful effects.

“In England 430,000 children aged between 11-15 years of age are exposed to second-hand smoke in the family car each week and in the UK passive smoking in children is estimated to cause the NHS £23 million per year. Locally we know that around 160 babies each year are identified as being at risk of exposure to second-hand smoke at their six-week check.”

When the survey results were announced earlier this year, the Island’s top public health official said that they should be able to make the change quickly to protect young people from passive smoking.

Dr Susan Turnbull, Medical Officer of Health said: “I was pleased at the consistent results from the 2013 consultation, together with those from the Jersey Annual Social Survey, pointing to what the people of Jersey, including smokers, expect to be done to protect children who may still be exposed to toxic levels of smoke in cars.”