Legislation is better than education in achieving smoke-free vehicles for children

The Welsh Assembly should be congratulated for acting to protect children from the hazard of smoking in cars.1 Social marketing will probably help shift societal norms around this matter. However, it would probably be more effective, and more cost effective, to use legislation (as in Canadian, Australian, and some American jurisdictions). In fact, to correct a small part of the news item, smoke-free cars with children are already required in some Australian states (rather than coming into force in May 2012).

Education campaigns can mean that large numbers of children, especially those in low income families, are not protected. In New Zealand in 2008, 27% of year 10 students (aged about 14 years) reported exposure to secondhand smoke in a private vehicle in the past seven days, unchanged from 2006, despite a smoke-free cars campaign in the media since 2005.2 3 It is particularly unfortunate that the assembly chose not to take the legislation route considering a large British survey in 2009 found that 76% of the public supported a smoke-free car law.4 Why are legislators so afraid of using laws to protect children from this hazard?