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Yesterday the U.K. Guardian posted a story stating that the British Medical Association (BMA) is urging lawmakers to extend the ban on smoking in public places introduced in 2007 to all vehicles in a further effort to protect people’s health. I am not a smoker. I truly hate the smell of cigarette smoke. However, this is ridiculous.

The article reports:

The all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health is calling for ministers to hold a public consultation on how to tackle smoking in cars. While opinion polls show widespread support for banning smoking in cars carrying children, such a step would be hard to enforce and would not protect adults, the MPs and peers say.

The British Lung Foundation said it would support such a ban because children “are literally trapped in the car and have no choice but to breathe in smoke”.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health also backs more limited action.

I realize this is occurring in Britain, not in America, but I have no doubt it is headed here. Meanwhile, I believe Congress is still paying subsidies to tobacco farmers and the federal and state governments make more money on the sale of a pack of cigarettes than the manufacturers. If tobacco is that bad, make it illegal. Pay the tobacco farmers a small amount of money to convert to growing grapes for wine or some other cash crop and simply put the industry out of business. Then explain to the taxpayers why their state and federal taxes went up due to lost revenue.

The way the government (in Britain and the United States) has handled the tobacco industry is schizophrenic.