|
 The move comes after lobbying from health
campaigners and the opposition Labour party, who cited research
showing that smoking in cars exposed children to more concentrated
smoke and caused health problems.
The government confirmed it would seek to implement a ban before an
election in May next year, after lawmakers voted on Monday to give
ministers the power to bring in the measure.
"The intention is for the secondary regulations to be in force ahead
of May 2015," Prime Minister David Cameron's official spokesman said
on Tuesday. "There is a particular issue around vehicles being a
particularly confined space and the associated public health
concerns." The ban has been criticized by some
parliamentarians and lobbyists as an intrusion on individual
freedoms. British American Tobacco said it agreed that children
should not be exposed to cigarette smoke in confined spaces like
cars, but said it would be concerned if the ban were ever extended
to affect smoking when children were not present. (Reporting by William James and
Martinne Geller; editing by Larry King)
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