One place where privacy would seem to be sacrosanct is your own private car. But smoking bans in private vehicles are becoming more prevalent across the world. So far only Mauritius applies a general smoking ban to private vehicles. All other countries, such as Australia, Cyprus, France and Scotland apply them when the car contains children or young people. But a new wave of legislation is on its way in proposals currently before parliaments in Greece, Israel and Taiwan.
Much of the safety concerns about smoking in vehicles is the fact that lighting up is itself a distraction, a lit cigarette falling onto someone’s lap is likely to cause panic by a driver and discarded cigarettes can pose a fire risk. For employers the issue is important because employees frequently give lifts to work colleagues and also use private cars for driving to meetings with clients and suppliers. This poses a health risk to smokers and passengers and leads to unpleasant odors on clothes.
In the UK regulations exist concerning smoking in all company vehicles. The regulations differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but in England and Wales the rule is that a clear “No Smoking” sign of 75mm diameter must be prominently displayed. The only exempted vehicles are company cars only ever used by one person and private cars used occasionally for business purposes.
Although there has not yet been any reported challenges by fellow employees there remains the possibility of complaints (and even litigation) concerning smoking in cars used for business purposes in any country where a workplace smoking ban exists. Moreover, at least three countries – Finland (2030), New Zealand (2025) and Sweden (2025) have national targets to end all smoking. In most cases such bans apply equally to e-cigarettes, although one unintended consequence is the rising incidence of Marijuana and other drug consumption in countries with tight smoking bans.