Should smoking be banned in cars when children are present?
Smoke is a real health hazard for kids whose lungs are still developing, and especially for kids who have illnesses like asthma where the lungs are particularly fragile and flare up when exposed to secondhand smoke.
Our latest poll shows 82 percent of adults support banning smoking in cars when children under 13 are riding in the vehicle. However, only seven states nationwide have laws banning the practice. In Canada, bans on smoking in cars with kids are deemed a success, read more about it in this article:
Bans on smoking in cars with kids deemed a success.
A 2006 study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found “alarming” levels of secondhand smoke were generated in just five minutes in vehicles under various driving, ventilation, and smoking conditions. According to the California Environmental Protection Agency, secondhand smoke in cars can be 10 times more concentrated than the level considered unhealthy by the U.S. EPA – and it is dangerous even if the windows are open.
Also in this poll, 87 percent of adults said they’d support a ban on smoking in businesses where children are allowed. Seventy-five percent expressed support for banning smoking in homes where children have asthma or another lung disease.
To learn more about the hazards of secondhand smoke for children and support for bans on smoking when kids are present, watch this short video with pediatrician and NPCH director Dr. Matt Davis:
If you have any thoughts or opinions on these types of smoking legislation, please share your thoughts in the comments section!