Fine for smoking in a car with children will be up to £1,000
Scottish Health Secretary Aileen Campbell explained that cigarette smoke contains toxic substances that are especially dangerous for children, as they breathe more often than adults and therefore inhale more smoke. According to the minister, the point of this law is not to punish smokers, but to change their behavior.
In the organization Forest, which unites smokers, they said that this law is excessive. The organization's director Simon Clark explained that few adults smoke in a car with children. In his opinion, this is an example of "virtue signaling," and government resources could be directed to something more important. "In England, since the adoption of a similar law last year, only one person has been caught and fined," Clark said.
As the BBC notes, in England and Wales, the ban on smoking in cars with minors has been in effect since 2015, but police complain about difficulties in enforcing the law.