End of the road? Kuwait plans to ban smoking in vehicles

Kuwait’s General Traffic Department is reportedly considering plans to enforce a new law that bans motorists from smoking inside their vehicles while driving, Arabian Business reported on Monday.

The decision comes as part of the ministry’s strategy to curb road accidents, as smoking while driving is considered one of the major causes of accidents in Kuwait, the report added, and that a fine of $98.99 will be introduced if anyone is caught smoking while driving.

The offense could also lead to the confiscation of vehicles, in agreement with the country’s new environmental law, which came into effect in October last year.

Smoking in closed or semi-closed areas, as well as public transport is already an offense.

Last year, Kuwait’s Ministry of Health also proposed to increase tax on tobacco products, as “Kuwait has one of the world’s lowest tobacco tax rates,” Ministry of Health Undersecretary Khaled Al Sahlawi said in an address to the United Nations during a meeting in New York to discuss progress on the 2011 political declaration on NCDs.