The figures are better than I thought they would be. We sent freedom of information requests to the 28 councils in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire that are responsible for licensing. 27 responded. Out of those 27 councils, 8 ban vaping in one way or another. They are Bradford, City of York (which currently has a ban for private hire vehicles, but not taxis. This is changing soon, though, and there will be an outright ban), East Riding of Yorkshire, Leeds (which is about to implement a ban), North Lincolnshire, Rotherham, Scarborough (which allows passengers to vape, but bans drivers), and Selby. 

Kirklees said it was considering a ban "potentially in the future", and North Kesteven is considering a ban at the moment. 

Whilst the percentage of councils that implement a ban in one way or another is just under 30 per cent, I would like to strike a note of caution. Just because a council has said that it doesn't plan to ban vaping in taxis and private hire vehicles, doesn't mean that it won't change its mind tomorrow. 

As for those councils in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire that do currently ban vaping in taxis and private hire vehicles, they really should look at this policy again. Unlike smoking, it is not illegal to vape in taxis. As we know, there is no such thing as "second hand vapour", and what is required is a grown up response where councils let consenting adults decide amongst themselves. Sheffield is one of those councils that is behaving in this way. Take a look at its entry on the report and you will see why we think it has the most common sense policy of all the councils we have looked at. 

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