Quote:
Originally Posted by Jel
2nde hand smoke is going to damage a 16 year old legal smoker, who may well also be smoking in the car? You've missed out that part, because of the emotions that 2nd hand smoke on others evokes. It's like the people who want porn banned because (rightly) it isn't good for kids to see, but it stirs up enough emotion with that 'someone think of the children' seed with those pro-ban porn people that they immediately think of a 5 year old exposed to porn instead of a 15/16/17 year old 'child'.
Tell me what damage 2nd hand smoke is going to cause a legal, 16 year old smoker in your car, with the windows rolled down, that it justifies a £50 on the spot fine? Are we really that mollycoddled a society these days?
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The law is there to protect kids from idiotic parents who decide to smoke in their cars while taking their kids from point A to point B.
Chances are, no one's going to give a crap about
(read: not likely to enforce the law) 17 year olds smoking in the car.
You have the 20% "what about the extremes" cases under your microscope, I look at it from the practical, real life "how it's expected to be enforced for 80% of the cases" angle. Simple 80/20 is most likely to apply here as well.
I don't think this has anything to do with the pussification of society, instead I see this as much needed progression towards a more health conscious society (which I think the UK is in dire need of).
Just my two cents.