The Smoke-free (Private Vehicles) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 are the latest addition to the smoke-free laws in Northern Ireland, which aim to protect the public from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. Since 2007 it has been an offence to smoke in any work vehicle used by more than one person. The new regulations require all private vehicles to be smoke-free when they are enclosed, contain more than one person and a person under 18 is present in the vehicle. It is an offence for someone to smoke in such a vehicle, or for a driver to fail to prevent smoking by a passenger. The regulations came into force on 1 February 2022 and are enforced by district councils, who can issue fixed penalty notices of £50 for non-compliance.
