The Jalisco State Congress has backtracked on implementing a measure that would have made smoking while driving a private vehicle a traffic offense.
A law, however, will be introduced to sanction drivers of public transport vehicles who are caught smoking at the wheel. Fines will range from 96 to 480 pesos.
Smoking bans in private vehicles are enacted to protect passengers from secondhand smoke and to increase road traffic safety. Countries that currently ban smoking in cars include Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France, Greece and South Africa. Smoking in cars with children under 18 was banned in California in 2007, and is banned in certain counties and cities of Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, Alabama and Illinois.