SMOKING electronic cigarettes in taxis in the Ribble Valley has been banned by the borough council.
The council’s licensing committee considered the proposal to alter the standard conditions for private hire and hackney carriage vehicles at a meeting on Tuesday night.
The idea was first discussed in March after the council received a query from a taxi driver over whether the existing smoking ban included electronic cigarettes.
The council’s conditions for taxi drivers previously stated that they must ‘not smoke in the vehicle or permit any passenger to smoke in the vehicle’, with no mention of e-cigarettes.
The new wording, which was passed unanimously by the committee, includes e-cigarettes.
Smoking is defined in the 2006 Health Act as ‘smoking tobacco or anything which contains tobacco’ and being ‘in possession of lit tobacco’.
The council said three taxi firms had so far shown support for the plan.
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