British parliament approves bill banning smoking in cars with children on board

The House of Commons approved by a majority Monday a bill banning smoking in cars carrying children in England and Wales. The new law allows the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to introduce executive measures to ban smoking in private vehicles with children on board, with possibility of considering the violation a crime. The bill, opposed by the opposition Labor Party, was backed by 376 MPs against 107. The draft law was tabled after more than 700 British experts submitted a petition last week calling on the authorities to protect children from health hazards caused by the smoking of their parents inside the cars. However, that does not mean the law will be enforced in near future because the government has not yet announced any measures to speed up the application of the law