7 APRIL 1950, Page 5

It was a good thing that the question of smoking

in trains should be raised in the House of Commons, though a pity that the discus- sion should have been confined so largely to the indulgence of the habit in restaurant-cars. That seems to me of minor importance because persons who dislike it have not to endure it long. What is essential is that the non-smoking rule should be strictly enforced in the small proportion of compartments which the railways provide for non-smokers. Nothing is more unfair than for someone in a compartment labelled non-smoking to look round half-defiantly and ask, "Anyone object to my smoking ? " Of course everyone ought to object, but unpleasantness often results, and most of us dislike unpleasantness. Guards and inspectr ought to be very vigilant in this matter.

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