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Britain’s parliament has voted in favour of banning smoking in cars carrying children.
The UK government said a ban would be introduced before the country’s next election in 2015. The vote, held in the House of Commons on Monday evening, was passed by 375 votes to 107.
The UK will join US states such as California as well as areas of Canada and Australia in introducing this type of smoking ban. Welsh ministers must now decide whether they want to enforce the proposed law. The vote saw a split in the government with Home Secretary Theresa May joining the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in opposing the ban.
The law will make it a criminal offence to smoke in cars with children, a change that the British Medical Association (BMA) has campaigned for since 2011. According to the Royal College of Physicians, around 300,000 children a year visit their GPs due to a second hand smoke-related illness.
MPs also voted in favour of banning the sale of electronic cigarettes to under-18s, another move aimed at improving the health of children in the UK.