Taxi driver fined for smoking in his cab

• Home
• Buy Champix
• Side Effects
• Smoking Related Illness

Taxi driver left "fuming" after being fined for smoking in his cab

A Welsh taxi driver has been fined over £400 by the courts in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales, for smoking in his taxi cab and throwing the cigarette butt out of the window.

John Colcomb, who has been a taxi driver for over 18 years, was prosecuted for breaches of two pieces of legislation. The first was for "smoking in a work's vehicle", which is contrary to Section 7 of the Health Act 2006. The second was for littering, contrary to Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Although Mr Colomb was originally given fixed penalties for these offences (£75 for littering and £50 for smoking), he refused to pay them so the case was subsequently heard in the Magistrates' Court. He was found guilty in his absence of both counts and ordered to pay a total of £435.

Mr Colomb said: "It just feels like Big Brother is watching you. I enjoy my fags and I don't know what the world is coming to when you are not allowed to have a smoke in your vehicle.

"There are plenty of other taxi drivers out there who are smoking in their cabs and the council will have their hands full trying to catch them."

Rhonda council however defended their prosecution of Mr Colomb. They emphasised that the smoking ban had been given a lot of publicity and that Mr Colomb would have been fully aware that he was breaking the law by smoking in his taxi. Another council spokesman stated that Rhonda council has been cracking down on a number of environmental issues including dog poo, fly tipping, graffiti and recycling for the benefit of the community as a whole.

Mr Colomb is the first person to be fined in Rhonda under the new anti-smoking laws.