A Scottish anti-smoking organization has asked for a ban on smoking in all automobiles. The auto smoking ban is just part of a 32 series of ideas on banning smoking, which, according to the organization, is Scotland’s largest killer.
Tobacco Manufacturer’s Association representatives said that such a ban goes way too far and question how authorities would possibly enforce it. A person’s vehicle is sort of like their home, it is their own private property and no one should be able to dictate whether someone can smoke in their car or not, rebuttals were made.
Ash Scotland, the organization proposing the ban, has made it part of an initiative; “Beyond Smoke Free,” and says that going beyond smoke free and protecting people’s rights against cigarette smoke in places like cars is exactly what is called for.
Opponents of the effort say that if someone’s smoking in a car bothers you, you should just ask them to put out the cigarette and they warn of the risk of becoming a society that simply bans everything the majority does not find agreeable.
It has also been pointed out that people don’t generally ride in cars belonging to strangers, so why would it be difficult to ask your relative or acquaintance not to smoke while you are in the car? If you are riding with a stranger, it is generally in a taxi or bus, which are both places where smoking is already regulated.
Smokers and non-smokers alike have said that it just seems like pushing a good thing too far to prohibit smoking in private cars.
