British parliament Wednesday (February 11) approved regulations which will make smoking in cars become illegal when carrying children, the Department of Health said.

The Department of Health said the new rules are expected to come into force on Oct. 1 and people who violates those rules will be fined 50 pounds (about 76 U.S. dollars).

"Public Health England (PHE) will launch its campaign to raise awareness of the dangers that secondhand smoke in homes and cars can cause to childrens health. PHE will also be running a campaign later in the year to raise awareness of the new legislation," said Jane Ellison, Minister of Public Health.

The minister said the regulations would become part of the existing smokefree laws and would make it an offence to smoke or to fail to prevent smoking in a private vehicle with someone under the age of 18 present.

The regulations do not apply to a driver on their own in a car, Xinhua reported.

According to statistics released by the Department of Health, every year, about 80,000 people in England killed by tobacco, which is one of the most significant challenges to public health.

Around eight million people in England smoke and exposure to secondhand smoke. Every time people breath in secondhand smoke, they breath in more than 4,000 chemicals. Among those, 50 chemicals are known to cause cancer.

Ellison said three million children are exposed to secondhand smoke in cars, many of them feel embarrassed or frightened to ask adults to stop smoking which is why the regulations are an important step in protecting children from the harms of secondhand smoke.

In Britain, smokefree laws have covered public transport, public places and work vehicles.

Source: ANTARA