Health Bill

There are a number of points on this clause. I support the amendment of course because I have added my name to it. It seems to me that it will be difficult to enforce. This matter has been raised by other noble Lords, but just exactly how will it be enforced? The police already are unable to enforce the wearing of seat belts. You see many people not wearing seat belts—even children in back seats do not wear them. Furthermore, we passed legislation—and I supported it—about using mobile phones in cars. Often I drive on the M4. I like driving and I drive around. The number of people I see not using mobile phones is far fewer than those I see using them. On motorways virtually every lorry driver is either eating his lunch or is on his mobile phone. Yet, the number of prosecutions of lorry drivers, whether British or foreign, is infinitesimal compared with the use of these gadgets. I understand that the police have already said that they cannot be the enforcement authority. They have washed their hands of it. Perhaps the Minister would confirm that the police will not be the enforcement authority. So, who will these enforcement officers be, and how are they going to do their job? At any given time in this country there will be about 15 million cars and lorries on the road. There are a total of about 37 million cars and lorries in this country, and about one-third of them will be in use at any time. Unless you have a huge army—thousands and thousands of people—standing on every street corner and every major road in towns and villages and on motorways, how will the law be enforced? The mind boggles at the problem of enforcement. The noble Lord, Lord Walton, made a perfectly pertinent point about bicycles. It will be very difficult to legislate for bicycles if a person just gets a little whiff of the fag as the cyclist goes past. But there is a more serious point relating to bicycles. What about tandems? The rider on the back seat will be in the slipstream of the smoke, so presumably he will be in great danger. The whole thing is ridiculous. We are going to stop people smoking in cars and in the cabs of lorries but when they are behind another vehicle and have their heating on, they will be sucking in diesel fumes at a terrific rate. The latest estimate that I have seen was shown to me by the noble Lord, Lord Monson. It came from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, although things have changed a little bit in that office.