A ban on smoking in vehicles carrying children is to come into full legal effect across the North of Ireland on Tuesday.
From February 1, it will also be an offence for a driver to smoke in a private vehicle when there is more than one person in the vehicle and the vehicle is enclosed, or if they permit someone else to smoke while children under the age of 18 are present.
The Executive has noted that a vehicle is still enclosed even if the windows are down and/or the doors are open.
However, the rules do not apply to motorcycles, or to convertible cars when the roof is completely down.
An exemption is permitted for caravans and motor homes, as the primary purpose of these vehicles is for accommodation, therefore they are only required to be smoke-free when they are on the road.
Tuesday will also see new legislation prohibit sales of e-cigarettes (used for vaping) to under-18s.
Businesses that break this rule will be given a fixed penalty notice of £250, or a maximum fine of £5,000 if prosecuted and convicted by a court.
From Tuesday, those found smoking in smoke-free private vehicles will receive a fixed penalty notice of £50 (reduced to £30 if paid in 15 days) for the person smoking, or a maximum fine of £1,000 if prosecuted and convicted by a court.
Drivers permitting others to smoke in a smoke-free private vehicle will receive a fixed penalty notice of £50, or a maximum fine of £2,500 if prosecuted and convicted by a court.
Health Minister Robin Swann urged smokers to quit ahead of the new regulations being introduced.
“It’s important that smokers are aware of the new regulations and realise that if you smoke in a car while a child is there, or if you’re the driver and you allow someone to smoke in these circumstances, you will be committing an offence which carries a hefty penalty,” he said.
Naomi Thompson, Health Improvement Manager at Cancer Focus NI has welcomed the changes.
“This is a significant move to a tobacco-free Northern Ireland. We firmly believe that these new laws will protect children’s health,” she said.
“We have already protected adults in workplaces and public places from second-hand smoke and it’s high time we gave our young people the same protection.
“It’ll also reduce their perception that smoking is normal behaviour. We know that children who regularly see adults smoke are more likely to try smoking.”
It became illegal to smoke in any pub, restaurant, nightclub, and most workplaces and work vehicles, in the North of Ireland and across the UK in 2007.
The latest ban follows other measures to steer young people in the North away from smoking in recent years.
These include the ban of tobacco sales in vending machines; the ban of tobacco displays in shops; tougher sanctions on retailers caught selling tobacco to children; standardised packaging and a ban on selling cigarettes in packs of ten.
Ms Thompson also noted that “most e-cigarettes contain nicotine and nicotine is highly addictive, so it makes sense to limit access to e-cigarettes for under 18s”.
“There are concerns that young people who start vaping and become addicted to nicotine, may also become tobacco smokers, so we see this legislation working not only to reduce usage of e-cigarettes among young people, but potentially reduce the number of young people who ultimately take up smoking,” the charity worker continued.
She said there are currently 2,300 deaths caused by tobacco in the North of Ireland every year, along with thousands affected by cancer, respiratory and other smoking related illnesses.
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