Up to a fifth of children and young people were exposed to second-hand smoke from adults in cars before a ban was introduced earlier this year, according to a report.

A similar proportion say adults smoke in their family home or that there are no rules or restrictions on smoking in the house.

In general, progress is being made in the creation of smoke-free places in Irish society, according to the report by the Institute of Public Health.

For example, 82 per cent of local authorities have implemented or agreed to implement smoke-free playground policies.

The Department of Health and the Department of Children in Northern Ireland recently adopted a smoke-free campus policy for their buildings and grounds, as have all HSE hospitals, the vast majority of primary care centres and a growing number of third-level institutions.

Restrictions

Public support for smoking bans and restrictions and awareness of the harm caused by second-hand smoke suggest there is potential to increase the number of smoke-free spaces on the island of Ireland, it says.

Sixteen per cent of children reported adults were allowed to smoke in the family car as long as the window was down and a further 3 per cent said there were no rules or restrictions about smoking in the car.

This appears to contradict the opinion of Minister of State at the Department of Health Finian McGrath, who told the Dáil in 2012 the vast majority of smokers “would never dream of” smoking in a car with children.

“The new law prohibiting smoking in cars came into effect in January 2016 and we would expect that the new legislation will over time, like the ban on smoking in the workplace, support people to change their behaviour,” the institute’s director of policy Dr Helen McAvoy said.