Wales apparently is on its way to become the first European country to enforce a tobacco ban inside vehicles in which children are traveling . According to a recent warning by the Welsh Government, will mount a renewed campaign to tackle smoking, alongside interventions and quit programmes, but if these interventions and campaigns fail to bring about any reduction in children’s exposure to second-hand smoke, it is quite likely that a ban on smoking inside cars carrying children will be imposed in Wales.
The use of legislative options alongside other tools from the behaviour change toolkit fits perfectly with the recommendations today from the House of Lords Select Committee on Behaviour Change which has suggested there is confusion within government over what nudging actually involved, as they had been given different definitions by officials.
According to the report, the government’s pursuit of non-regulatory steps had created an environment whereby nudge was being seen as something that did not require legislation. It talks about the challenges of changing the behaviour of a population and the findings and recommendations of the Committee, mentioning the need for independent advisors and a lack of scientific evidence around changing a nation’s behaviour.
For those of us working in behaviour change we have known for a long time, that whilst so called nudges are part of the approach, they should not be seen in isolation as a quick fix, but part of an insight-led, co-created and meaningful approach, that is supported by robust public policy and Government that puts tackling health inequalities, social mobilisation and other key issues at the heart of all it does.
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