The Island will become the first place in the British Isles to bring in such legislation on 1 September, a month before similar laws are introduced in England and Wales.
In June the States voted unanimously in favour of proposals to introduce the law, despite some concerns that it would be difficult to enforce.
From next Tuesday, Islanders could face fines of up to £2,000 if they break the new law.
Martin Knight, head of health improvement for the Health Department, said that the law would protect young people from ‘second-hand’ cigarette smoke. The move to ban smoking in cars carrying under-18s follows a public consultation in 2013, the results of which revealed strong public support for changing the law.
Mr Knight added: ‘Estimates suggest that as many as 1,800 young people in Jersey may be exposed to second-hand smoke on a weekly basis.’
To support the impending legislation, the Health Department held a ‘smoke-free cars’ campaign in June. The scheme involved a range of tactics to make Islanders aware of the dangers of second-hand smoke and the date the law would come into force.
Rhona Reardon, co-ordinator for the stop-smoking service Help2Quit, said that smokers should be able to cope without having a cigarette in the car as journeys in the Island tended to be very short.
‘Smokers may be concerned about coping without a cigarette, but we want to promote the message that they can cope when children are in the car. The average journey in Jersey is only three miles,’ she said.
‘This campaign message was developed using responses from a public consultation, which showed that Islanders believed that most people would manage not to smoke in their car when children were present. The benefits to protecting children were perceived as being worth any potential discomfort.’
According to the latest statistics, the number of children in Jersey who smoke is on the decline.
The percentage of people aged between ten and 15 who have never smoked rose from 53 per cent in 1998 to 84 per cent last year. And the number of Islanders over the age of 16 who smoke daily fell from 19 per cent in 2005 to 16 per cent in 2013.
Islanders who wish to give up smoking can access an eight-week support programme which is offered by 19 pharmacies around the Island.
