Smoking in cars set to rise

Smoking in cars could be set to increase once the smoking ban in public places is introduced in England next month.

Research conducted by Privilege Insurance, safe driver champion, shows that in Scotland there was a fourteen per cent rise in smoking in cars after the ban was introduced there in March last year. The study also found that eleven per cent of drivers admitted their driving had been negatively affected as a result of smoking.

And if it was proven to significantly impair a child’s health, seventy per cent of drivers across England and Scotland would support a government ban on smoking in the car when a child under sixteen is present. Currently twenty-six per cent of drivers smoke in the car, even when they have children under sixteen in the car.

Jennifer Culley, from Privilege Insurance said: “Drivers are already prohibited from using hand held mobile phones when driving, and last year Privilege revealed that drivers are twice as likely to crash when they are eating or drinking, so puffing on a cigarette most certainly won’t be safe.

“Today’s research shows that forty-seven per cent of drivers would either stop smoking or cut back on the number of times they smoke at the wheel, if it was proved to increase their risk of crashing. So, we are currently undertaking a further study to identify just how distracting smoking can be and what the associated risks are, and we will advise drivers of our findings later this month. But what’s worrying is that forty per cent of drivers across Scotland and England said they would still smoke even if it was proven to be dangerous.”

If research proved smoking while driving would increase risk of crashing:

I will continue to smoke while driving 40%

I will stop smoking while driving 29%

I will cut back on the number of times I smoke while driving 11%

I will not smoke in the car when I have passengers 7%

Don’t know 8%

Not stated 6%