Simon Clark, of Forest, which campaigns for smokers' rights, questioned the figures used in the report, noting that cases of asthma had been rising as the number of smokers had fallen.

Well it does take your hands off the steering wheel.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

It is calling for a two-pronged approach

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.