http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8583551.stm

Sounds like the start of WW3 to me

oops better ignore data that contradicts or go against what we are demanding

Plus why would it be banned in all cars? Why not just cars with children in?

Well it does take your hands off the steering wheel. It can be dangerous, especially when they fumble around for a lighter in a bag or on the floor somewhere.

So does changing gear, unless you've got a very expensive car.

There are many reasons for being asthmatic, and smoking is a trigger - not necessarily a cause. So, if an asthmatic enters a room full of smoking smokers, an asthma attack is clearly very likely to be on the cards. Smokers cannot duck the fact that their habit is a trigger.

There is much debate about the reason for more asthmatics - it could be inherited, environmental, bored immune systems.

Changing gear is part of driving and controlling the car. Lighting a fag, opening a pack of sweets, answering the phone, texting, tweeting etc. isn’t.

So does changing the radio station, indicating, changing gear, eating, drinking, using hands-free etc etc.

However the logic holds. Either taking one hand off the wheel while still maintaining control of the vehicle is acceptable or it is not. If it is, then there are no grounds for banning smoking on this basis. If it is not, then there an awful lot of other activities that people do in cars which should also be prohibited.

Aside from anything else, there are already rules that cover this should a driver not be in good control of their vehicle - they would be prosecuted under the rules of 'driving without due care and attention', regardless of the detail of what the driver was actually doing at the time that was impeding their driving competence.

If we want to say smoking in cars should be banned on a health-related justification I have no real issue with that. However nothing is to be gained by attempting to justify it on what are essentially illogical and easily refuted grounds. Making law on the basis of weak justification just leads to bad law which is then either widely ignored or fails in the courts as it cannot be justly prosecuted.

if smoking in cars is bad, then justify it on the real reason for doing so - that smoking generally is bad and we don't want people to do it if at all possible. I don't see how being essentially dishonest about something is going to help.

They can as you say already be covered by "Driving without due care and attention" laws. The health aspect is irrelevant as they know about that already. Though smoking with kids in the car should be banned. These could be altered probably by a statutory instrument. Though the banning smoking with kids will probably need a new law.

I might be a doctor, but I still respect the right of others', including their right to smoke. However, I feel that children are at risk, even from second-hand smoke.

As for the law, if you use anything not directly part of the vehicle, you can be prosecuted for careless driving. That means pressing the button on your earpiece to answer a phonecall, or tapping your portable satnav screen.

Smoking whilst driving should be banned, there's no "if you change gear then smoking is fine" smoking clearly distracts. Finding your cigs, finding the lighter, lighting, getting rid of ash, then disposing of it, we're adults and surely have enough common sense and self control to be able to wait until you stop to light up.

Rubbish. For the majority of smokers the set-up is nowhere near that complicated, you tend to have everything ready, pick it up, light it and open the window, only two of those actions are even remotely different to the normal use of equipment in a car. In fact most of the people I know who snoke in a car light up before they leave wherever they were or at traffic lights etc. I don't see the problem.

Yes, if you change gear smoking is fine, smoking is as fine as opening the window, making a call on a hands-free phone, eating a packet of sandwiches, opening a bottle of drink and so on.

I had thought the mainstay of the argument was about people with kids in the car (since they cited parks and playgrounds as well) but if you ban smoking in cars on the basis that it's distracting, you'd better also stop parents from taking their kids anywhere in a car.....talk about distracting!!!

Kids can be very distracting but smoking in the enclosed space of a car impacts on them. As a non smoker this will have no effect on me, but will mean that when ever I am in the car with others I do not have to tolerate any smoke.

I must confess I like having an ashtray in a car for loose change. Ban smoking and they might eliminate them.