This is one of those issues in which everyone says they agree but that is not fulfilled afterwards. Parents usually smoke in the car when their children go, with the consequent risks to health and safety (not to mention odors or bad example).
A study published in the journal "Pediatrics" has highlighted that the majority of smoking parents expose their children to tobacco smoke in cars. The low rates of pediatricians who address the issue of smoking in cars with children have also been confirmed.
The study has been prepared by members of the Center for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy, Massachusetts General Children's Hospital and specialists from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the University of Rochester Medical Center (New York).
Of the almost 800 smoking parents with car When interviewed for the investigation, two out of three parents who established strict anti-smoking policies at home do not adopt the same attitude in their cars.
Almost three quarters of the parents who smoked admitted that they had smoked in their car in the previous three months, suggesting that parents do not recognize the dangers of exposing children to tobacco residues in such a small space.
Few parents smoke (12%) and recommend having a smoke-free car. The study showed that factors such as parents' age, gender, education and studies and smoking (about 10 cigarettes per day) can influence the fact of applying an anti-smoking policy in the car.
In addition, while smoking at home if it was considered inappropriate by more smoking parents, talking about the car does not have the same perception.
The conclusion is that it is necessary to improve pediatric interventions, public health campaigns and policies related to anti-smoking laws in cars to protect children from tobacco smoke, since smoking in the car affects them especially (their health and the safety of the whole family).
You can no longer smoke in playgrounds and the European Parliament issued a report long ago so that it is not smoked in private vehicles. In Spain, this standard is already in force in the Basque Country, but we have no news that it has been extended to other places, although it is being studied in countries such as Ireland.
On this issue there will surely be those who have to point out that prohibition is not the solution, and in a way it is not misleading. Awareness of the population is necessary thanks to institutional support, educational campaigns, medical advice ...
But if all this does not work, are the bans more effective? Are we more afraid of fines than any other impact on our lives? Well, it's sad, but it's like that, it never hurts anyway keep informed about how harmful it is to smoke in the car with children.
