Over 500 respiratory health professionals in the United Kingdom are urging for legislation that bans smoking in cars with children as a way “to protect the wellbeing of children now and in the future.”
In a letter to the journal The BMJ, the health care providers state that there is “a strong consensus that children need to be protected from unnecessary hazards, that exposing children to tobacco smoke is unacceptable, and that removing this exposure is effective.”
Smoking is a well-known cause of many health problems. The negative health effects of secondhand smoke are well known. Inhalation of cigarette smoke causes serious damage to the developing lungs of children. The Royal College of Physicians estimates that secondhand smoke is responsible for 300,000 primary care contacts, 9,500 hospital admissions, at least 200 cases of bacterial meningitis, and 40 sudden infant deaths each year in the United Kingdom alone. Recent research also indicates thatthirdhand smoke poses a significant health risk.
The health risks associated with cigarette smoke are extremely avoidable.
The physicians dismiss the objections that legislation that bans smoking in cars with children impinges on freedom: “Objections that this legislation impinges on freedom assume that there is a right to force children to breathe tobacco smoke and the objectors seem to value this more highly than the children’s right to breathe clean air.” The physicians believe that the right of children to clean air is a higher priority than another individual’s right to smoke.
Precedent for smoking bans in cars with children include legislation for the wearing of seat belts, the use of child car seats, and the ban on mobile phone use while driving.
Argue the respiratory health professionals, “Smoking in cars where children are present has been banned in other countries. We urge MPs to support this important public health measure, which will protect the wellbeing of children now and in the future.
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