I see the BMA have put their mighty muscle behind preventing passive smoking in cars.

As a reformed Fag-ash Lil – now 8 years smoke free – I have a lot of sympathy for the plight of the in-car non-smoker. But come on, BMA,  put your money where your mouths are and admit it -it’s not just the cigarettes,  its the people we should be getting out of  cars!

Why not collate all the damage done to people by passive and active driving?

I’ll make a start. Let’s see, there’s: the breathing difficulties  and chemical inhalation we get from exhaust fumes; the damage to life and limb from crashes and collisions  (drivers,  passengers, pedestrians and cyclists); other health risks to car drivers and passengers of hours of inactivity:  things like  obesity, heartdisease, back problems ,  family arguments;  the environmental impact of air pollution, CO2 emission, oil spills and  and diminishing public transport;  and above all,  the complete perversion of our infrastructure because people need to be near roads rather than services, have hard standing rather than gardens, and car-accessible supermarkets and shopping malls rather than local shops.

Like passive smoking, all these have an  undue impact on the ‘innocent’ :  the children,  the non-driver, the passenger,  the cyclist, all those nationally or internationally  who don’t partake but who suffer from the effects of those who do. And it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to assert that there are many many in the middle east who are currently passive victims of our horrible driving habit.

If you cost up the impact of all of these ills  it will be many many many times  higher in both human and financial terms than the damage done specifically by in-car passive smoking.

Legislation against the car itself would be a infringement of the right to choose  -but one that would  bring far greater benefits than the infringement caused by legislating against in-car cigarettes.

So why has the BMA not gone down this route? Cynically I imagine that the number of car-reliant  BMA members far outweighs the number who smoke. It is always easier to object to other peoples‘ vices, isn’t it? That’s why so many people are ambivalent about speeding.

So come on BMA. Come on everyone. Lets stop being so partial  and protectionist in our health messages, and tackle head-on the health damaging behaviours of  the majority –  that is,  ourselves  – the damaging behaviours that we contribute to and enjoy as well as those done by  ‘other people’.

You know it makes sense!