AS OF this morning in Scotland, any adult caught smoking in a car containing anyone under the age of 18 is liable to prosecution.

Those detected smoking in private vehicles with a young person on board face an on-the-spot fixed penalty of £100, or a fine of up to £1,000 should the case goes to court.

The Smoking Prohibition (Children in Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Act 2016 was introduced by the then Liberal Democrat MSP Jim Hume and was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament last December.

Hume, who lost his list seat in the South of Scotland in the Holyrood elections earlier this year, was inspired by his late mother Joyce, a non-smoking victim of lung cancer, to bring in a private member’s bill, which was backed by the Scottish Government. The ban come 14 months after a similar law took effect in England and Wales.

Hume said: “It fills me with great pride that through hard work and cross-party consensus, we are now seeing the introduction of a law that can potentially save 60,000 children a year from the hazards of second-hand smoke.

“I thank all members of the previous Parliament’s health and sport committee for their constructive work, the ministerial team, fellow members, the numerous charities, organisations, academics and my own office, who have supported me.

“There is one other person I would like to thank; a woman who inspired me and drove me on to make a difference in my community, a non-smoker who died five years and one week ago today from lung cancer – my mother, Joyce Hume.

“Thanks to all those in support of this measure, we have taken a huge step in the right direction to having a healthier Scotland for all.”

The ban should be extended to all smoking in vehicles, according to the chairman of the British Medical Association in Scotland.

Dr Peter Bennie said: “An outright ban on smoking in vehicles would ensure that adults and particularly vulnerable adults, who may be unable to object to others smoking while they are present, are also protected.

“Doctors witness first-hand the devastating effects of smoking-related harms on their patients.

“Children are still developing physically and, as a result, are more susceptible to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.

“When someone smokes in a vehicle, it creates a concentrated source of exposure to second-hand smoke."

Bennie argues that an outright ban would be easier to enforce.

Enforcement of the new law may prove a difficult task as there has been just one court case in England since the ban came in. However, campaigners argue that is because smokers have got the message and obeyed the law.

Public health minister Aileen Campbell said: “It’s simply not safe to smoke when a child is in the car. Dangerous levels of chemicals can build up, even on short journeys, and 85 per cent of second-hand smoke is invisible and odourless, so you can’t always see what they’re breathing in.

“We know for a fact that the poisonous chemicals in second- hand smoke are extremely damaging to our health. We also know that children breathe faster than adults, meaning they ingest more of the deadly toxins.”

Irene Johnstone, head of the British Lung Foundation in Scotland, said: “This new law will not only help reduce the exposure of second-hand smoke, but will also go a long way in helping Scotland becoming a tobacco-free generation.”

Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest, said: “The regulations are patronising and unnecessary. Very few adults smoke in cars with children. Smokers know it’s inconsiderate and the overwhelming majority don’t do it.

“So few people smoke when there’s a child in the car it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. In England, only one person has been caught and fined since an identical law was introduced last year.

“The law is a classic example of virtue signalling. It’s utterly pointless and a complete waste of time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere.”