I was under the impression it was illegal to smoke while driving but i was told no that i was wrong, but ive had a search on google and according to wht i have found it seems i was right, was i right in the first place
No you're wrong. It was out into the highway code, not the law books.It does mean however that you could be stopped if you were driving dangerously as you could if you were drinking something or talking to someone while tearing up a one way street in the wrong direction. However it doesn't mean this is illegal
It's not a specific offence under the road traffic act (as opposed to using a mobile phone) but it could be used as evidence for driving whilst not in proper control of the vehicle. The highway code says you shouldn't because of the safety issue.
As Ethel says, under the smoking legislation there is an offence if it's a company vehicle.