There are mixed opinions on whether vaping in a car is illegal and whether it is healthy and/or sensible. Questions about this issue are regularly asked and so we’ve put this post together in order to answer some of the most common queries.

Are You Allowed to Vape in a Vehicle

Right now there is no cut and dried yes/no answer to this question. There isn’t a specific piece of legislation which prohibits the use of e cigarettes in a vehicle however you may fall foul of dangerous driving laws if vaping while driving causes a problem.

From a passive vaping point of view, again, there is no legislation concerning this. Under the Go Smoke Free legislation that went live in 2007 it was made illegal to smoke on public transport and later became illegal to smoke in a car with minors. Vaping does not fall under these laws as it is so different to smoking and in addition to this, according to Public Health England vaping is at least 95% less harmful than cigarette smoking.

So no, you are not legally prohibited from vaping in car but you need to be aware that you may find yourself in hot water if your vapour impedes your driving view, the view of others or is considered to have caused an accident.

Using Common Sense

When it comes to vaping and driving vapers are asked to use their common sense. Employing big vape clouds into oncoming traffic made possible by high VG e liquids is downright dangerous. Impeding your own view by filling the car with vapour is also ill-advised. Drivers driving with ice or snow on their windows and windscreen will be pulled over and find themselves in hot water and the same does and should apply to vapers with a car full of vision-clouding vapour.

What About Vaping-Related Distractions

Removing your focus from the road to light up a cigarette is bad and dangerous. Taking your eyes off the road to fiddle with an e cigarette and refill it, that’s just plain dangerous driving. Many feel that smoking and vaping should not be allowed in cars due to the distraction factor. If being cautious it would be sensible to pull over before refilling your e cigarette as not doing offers the same level of distraction as using your mobile phone.

Be Courteous

Vaping is not banned indoors in the same way that smoking is, for obvious reasons. There are not any passive vaping concerns whereas passive smoking has been proven to be dangerous to non-smokers as well as those choosing to smoke themselves. Despite the fact that passive vaping is not unhealthy, that doesn’t mean that it is ok to blow a cloud of strawberry vapour into someone’s face when waiting in a queue. The same applies to vaping in a car. You might be a happy vaper however you passengers and those around you may not be. Consider whether vaping and driving or when stationary is the courteous, polite thing to do.

Vaping and Driving In Summary

Vaping and driving is one of those agree to disagree topics. Don’t be surprised though if legislation governing vaping in cars, from a health and safety point of view, is introduced in the near future.