Who, What, Why: Is smoking in cars dangerous?

[Gerald]

A ban on smoking in cars where children are present may be introduced in Wales. Is lighting up inside your vehicle damaging?

If a campaign to change attitudes does not succeed, a tobacco ban inside vehicles in which children are travelling could be imposed, the Welsh government has warned.

Such a move would bring Wales into line with a number of other jurisdictions around the world. But is passive smoking a danger to passengers?

Anti-smoking campaigners point to a University of Aberdeen study which suggested that it exposes children to levels of smoke comparable to those in a smoke-filled pub.

But the smokers' rights lobby questions the research, saying another study indicates the vast majority of people would never light up with a child travelling alongside them anyway.

If Wales were to adopt a ban on smoking inside cars in which children were present, it would join the US states of California, Arkansas and Louisiana as well as parts of Canada and Australia which have already done so.

Since 2009 smoking has been banned in the UK within vehicles used for work or to transport members of the public. Additionally, the Highway Code advises against smoking while driving because it causes a distraction.

Anti-smoking campaigners say they would like to see the law tightened further.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14142992

Note: 14 July 2011 Last updated at 00:01 GMT

[Snestorm]

Maybe they should just ban cars . . .
because of dangerouse exhaust fumes.

Busy body idiots!

[Gerald]

It would be unfortunate if this were the case, but it will probably about 50-100 years :hmmm:

[Feuer Frei!]

I don't smoke in the car, when my children are with me.
Or anywhere around them.
This law i support, i think it's sad that a government has to introduce laws and teach parents how to be responsible parents.
Sad really.

[danlisa]

Pfft. I don't wish harm on any children etc etc.....but can the chuffing 'do goods' just butt out?:stare:

They originally suggested a ban on smoking while driving because the driver wasn't in full control of his/her vehicle. Apparently, holding a cigarette means you only have one free hand to steer with. This idea was shelved because someone with a modicum of sense reminded the 'do gooders', that changing gear required one hand to be removed from the wheel also.

Now they move on to the 'concentrated smoke' argument. Shut Up! I don't know which spotty faced book worm dreamed this up for a paper thesis but I guarantee you they never conducted research in a moving vehicle. Any driver who smokes always holds his/her cigarette in the hand nearest the drivers window and that window is partially open. Now, due to the forward movement of said vehicle, suction is produced which immediately draws all smoke outside of the vehicle, even when you exhale.

*end rant*

:nope:

[Penguin]

This law i support, i think it's sad that a government has to introduce laws and teach parents how to be responsible parents.
Sad really.

Indeed. Not smoking in a car with children is a matter of basic decency, we should need no law for this.
However that's the basic problem. We require training if you want to drive a car, but any moron can just breed without having the slightest clue about raising a child - well, I wouldn't like it the other way either, so I have no real solution.

Protecting the people who are unable to protect themselves is imo more important than the parent's right to smoke, so I go with this law, though having stomach aches about overprotective nanny laws.

But what's about smoking in a convertible? ;)

[Feuer Frei!]

Protecting the people who are unable to protect themselves

And you've hit the nail on the head right there :yep:

[danlisa]

Protecting the people who are unable to protect themselves is imo more important than the parent's right to smoke.....

And you've hit the nail on the head right there :yep:

Really?

Where's the law banning smoking while pregnant, drinking while pregnant, eating excessively fatty foods.....yadda yadda yadda.

Oh, that's right, they messed up the whole smoking while driving issue the first time around, so they're going to muscle it though under a different reason.

[AVGWarhawk]

As a smoker who has quit I have to agree that smoking in the car is absolutely awful for anyone who is a non-smoker. The crap stinks. The kid is locked in the rolling smoke chamber. It is clear that smoking is bad for all involved. Good law..I support it and don't care who knows it. :O:

[Armistead]

This is like the new law someone wants to push to call obesity child abuse and in bad cases the parents could lose their kids to the state. The way it's written 6-19% of parents could face a court date if it passes.

I understand the issue, obesity causes much illness and diabetes has increased 10 fold with this generation, but instead of taking the kids away, make the parents pay the medical bills. If they can afford all that food, they can pay the Doctor.

[Armistead]

As a smoker who has quit I have to agree that smoking in the car is absolutely awful for anyone who is a non-smoker. The crap stinks. The kid is locked in the rolling smoke chamber. It is clear that smoking is bad for all involved. Good law..I support it and don't care who knows it. :O:

I can remember as a kid that both my parents smoked when we went on trips, it was awful.

[Penguin]

Really?

Where's the law banning smoking while pregnant, drinking while pregnant, eating excessively fatty foods.....yadda yadda yadda.

Oh, that's right, they messed up the whole smoking while driving issue the first time around, so they're going to muscle it though under a different reason.

I am not sure if a mother can be sued if she does intentional harm to her unborn kid - I am not talking about an occasional fag or sip of wine. But if you excessively use drugs during pregnancy, you show that you are unable to think 1 metre ahead and proof that you are unfit to raise a child.

To prohibit driving while smoking is unnecessary, as you already get most of the guilt in case of an accident (e.g. when the driver is distracted because his cig fell on the ground)


To lighten up the thread a little, here is an article about a concerned mother: :D

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/2158/pregnant.jpg

[AVGWarhawk]

I can remember as a kid that both my parents smoked when we went on trips, it was awful.


Me as well sir. Sad truth I did the same to my kids. After quiting I realised how dreadfully awful it was for them. Could not get away from the smoke. Strapped in with window shut....you know...the A/C was running. :doh: I apologized to my kids after found how crappy it was for them.

[Herr-Berbunch]

I can remember as a kid that both my parents smoked when we went on trips, it was awful.

+1 :nope:

When I was very young I had bronchitis, at the doctor's my parents offered to quit smoking - and the doctor said that would not help. Different times then though, today we know a lot better but still choose the wrong option. :nope:

[HunterICX]

+1 :nope:


+2

Always got roadsick in the car especially when they smoked.

HunterICX

[Sailor Steve]

I'm firmly against any law that tries to make people safe from themselves. A law to protect kids from stupid parents? Maybe it is a good idea.

[Howard313]

I get to hear about a recent development that actually sounds intelligent for a change? :o

Hey I'm all for this ban, my dad used to smoke with me in the car all the time when I was a kid, never seemed to give it any thought either.

[Armistead]

+1 :nope:

When I was very young I had bronchitis, at the doctor's my parents offered to quit smoking - and the doctor said that would not help. Different times then though, today we know a lot better but still choose the wrong option. :nope:

Well, when I was a kid it was common to see adults smoke any and everywhere. You went to the grocery store many women would be smoking with babies in the cart, parents smoked at the movies, out to eat, etc...We grew up with cigarette smoke, but that was non regulated capitalism at it's best.

My dad can remember the large insecticide trucks with huge sprayers coming down the road, said it looked like a large sprinkler system and kids would run behind playing in the bug water, course they were told it was safe, course now government regulation doesn't allow such, why we need less regulation, more people would die.

[Gerald]

Well ... I do not use nicotine, so I do not see the "yellow nicotine stained cars" :cool:

[Anthony W.]

As others have said... I support the law, but I'm dismayed that people don't have the common sense just not to smoke around kids.

I watched a woman chain smoking at a gas station with her kid in the car.

[Falkirion]

Its a good law to have. As with others on the board I'm a smoker who has quit. I dont have kids but I never smoked behind the wheel because the nicotine messed with my brain. I didn't like the feeling of being behind the wheel and having my perception a little bit messed up.

[Madox58]

I'm a Smoker but I consider myself a responsible Smoker.
I do not smoke around non-smokers unless I move well away from them.
I do not smoke in my own vehicles if a non-smoker is in it.
I do not ever throw down the butts.
I don't even smoke in my own home if a non-smoker visits.
I would never consider smokeing in a non-smokers home/vehicle!

I find it sad that others just don't get it and there is a need to force them to wake the freak up!

[Blacklight]

I agree with that proposed law and fully support it. Smoking in a car with a kid in it is like sticking the kid in a closed garage with the car running. The health hazzards of second hand smoke have been proven time and time again, not to mention the horrible smell.
I would even go far enough to say that smokers should be banned from smoking in apartment buildings as well. While I don't care what smokers do in their own homes, when their smoke comes from their home and completely fumigates MY home, there's a problem. If a neighbor has a water leak and it comes into my apartment, I expect it to be fixed so the water doesn't come into my apartment and ruin things. When my neighbors (who smoke like chimneys) puff away, the smell is getting into my apartment and my stuff. Moving out is NOT an option because we're dirt poor. Apartments are communal living spaces. Just the same as smoking is banned from resturaunts, office buildings, etc (also communal), it should be banned from apartment buildings as well.
Let the deluge of "You can't tell me what to do or not do in my home !!" begin. :DL

[Madox58]

If the neighbors smoke is getting into your dwelling?
You live in a piece 'o crap building!
Which does not surprise me with today's accepted building standards.

[Blacklight]

If the neighbors smoke is getting into your dwelling?
You live in a piece 'o crap building!
Which does not surprise me with today's accepted building standards. This has been the case with EVERY apartment I've ever owned for decades. Unless the neighbor's apartment is sealed up completely airtight like a spacecraft, the smoke is going to find a vent, crevice, or some way of migrating into the surrounding apartments.

I feel sorry for people who have to live around here with kids. No telling what's happening to THEIR lungs.

[Feuer Frei!]

I find it sad that others just don't get it and there is a need to force them to wake the freak up!
But that's just it though, we responsible people, and i stress the word responsible, do get it.
Unfortunately the ignoramouses and morons who aren't responsible have to be made an example of.
This 'disciplining' via state, county, federal, national, wherever you live, law enforcement is unfortunately the result of that.
I'm just glad that in this case, i don't have to suffer, for once, because of someone elses irresponsible behaviour towards something that should be so dam simple and easy to do in the first place!

[Armistead]

This has been the case with EVERY apartment I've ever owned for decades. Unless the neighbor's apartment is sealed up completely airtight like a spacecraft, the smoke is going to find a vent, crevice, or some way of migrating into the surrounding apartments.

I feel sorry for people who have to live around here with kids. No telling what's happening to THEIR lungs.

The problem with most apts is the top floor, the attic spaces are connected except for some 2x4's. They caught one man here that cut through and was visiting many of his neighbors, put cams over girls beds, taking goods, etc..Course the cam finally got him, someone filmed him coming through the return.

[Buddahaid]

I don't smoke and it bothers me just to smell it anywhere now. I own my detached home but have smoking neighbors and hate it when I can't open my windows to cool the house because of the odor that wafts in. No it's not really a health problem but a quality of life problem. Someone even throws the damned butts over the fence and I've never said a thing about it to cause any sort of retribution. I am now dreaming up ways of creating my own smelly revenge. Face it people it stinks the world up. Even getting in a car or elevator with a smoker stinks worse with all the aromatic ash tray perfume that follows them. It's a really stupid habit among many other stupid habits, but one cannot avoid it's reach by moving a few feet away even. :dead:

[Madox58]

I know that I carry the smell of smoke on me.
I don't fret about that because of what I call 'GrandMa smell'.
Those Women that seem to use Gallons of oder washing that gags me worse then Pepper Spray!
Do we need a Law for that also?

[Blacklight]

Grandma odor doesn't cause lung cancer, or at least it didn't the last time I heard. Maybe someone should do a study. :hmmm:

[Madox58]

It does not have to cause Cancer.
It can effect and launch other lung problems.
My Step-Son suffers from breathing disorders.
Why should GrandMa be allowed to cause him suffering?

[Buddahaid]

I know that I carry the smell of smoke on me.
I don't fret about that because of what I call 'GrandMa smell'.
Those Women that seem to use Gallons of oder washing that gags me worse then Pepper Spray!
Do we need a Law for that also?

Don't get me started on perfumes. Whoops too late! I reach my limit when I can actually taste the perfume in the air. Literally taste it like a snake smells! I'd rather smell your natural BO for Christ's sake. Perfumes need to be subtle to be attractive not bowl you over like a runaway lorrie. Bothersome and it can aggrivate my seasonal allergies which is my real issue on that subject.

[Feuer Frei!]

I'd rather smell your natural BO for Christ's sake.
You've obviously never stood near a person that smells like 20 army guys who have just been out bush for a 2 week live fx and then put into a confined, airtight abode type of smell.
Let me tell you, i've encountered it at work a few times and i have physically had to step back about 3 to 4 paces, yep 3 to 4, to stop myself from dry-reaching.
And i have a pretty tolerable nose.

[Obelix]

Really?

Where's the law banning smoking while pregnant, drinking while pregnant, eating excessively fatty foods...
+1
Now that some people do not realize the danger - is to influence legislation. My grandfather smoked right at home, it was unpleasant for all non-smokers. I myself was a smoker and for a time followed his example, but I later revised his views.
I never smoke at home - go out on the balcony or on the street.
I never smoke in the car when there is a non-smoking passengers of all ages.
Generally in the U.S. is an understatement for this approach, some laws apply only in certain states.
We in Russia also attended to the health and come to this globally - in the near future is expected to rise in price of a pack of cigarettes more than 10 times.
I've been thinking about how to quit smoking. Apparently, this law will force me to approach this more seriously and put all my will to fight with my smoking.

[Blacklight]

You've obviously never stood near a person that smells like 20 army guys who have just been out bush for a 2 week live fx and then put into a confined, airtight abode type of smell.
Let me tell you, i've encountered it at work a few times and i have physically had to step back about 3 to 4 paces, yep 3 to 4, to stop myself from dry-reaching.
And i have a pretty tolerable nose.

It must really suck to be a part of a deployed tank crew out in the field. I can't imagine what it must smell like in one of those vehicles after it's been lived in by them for a while.

[Madox58]

In everyday situations?
You'll notice the smell.
In Combat situations?
A fresh smell will grab your attention in a heart beat!
Where's that Lilac smell comeing from?
Oh! There he is!! BAMM!
You hardly notice body smell in the field just like pig crap don't bother pig farmers.

[Obelix]

If I smoke in any indoor or in a few minutes back there - I feel as sharp and not very pleasant smell. If I smoked a cigarette on the balcony with the door open, I feel like odor permeates from the balcony of the apartment. But the company is smoking a cigarette himself - all at once dull. So always have to remember the others.

[Stealhead]

I agree with not allowing it when kids are in the car.An old Master Sargent in my old unit used to smoke in his house and car all the time around his son he was not a bad guy or bad parent he just did not think about it I suppose his son ended up developing asthma when he was 10 from being around all the smoke and he felt really horrible about it.

[Snestorm]

I don't smoke in the car, when my children are with me.
Or anywhere around them.
This law i support, i think it's sad that a government has to introduce laws and teach parents how to be responsible parents.
Sad really.

I think it's time The People taught The Politicians how to be Responsible Representatives.

[Snestorm]

Protecting the people who are unable to protect themselves is imo more important than the parent's right to smoke, so I go with this law, though having stomach aches about overprotective nanny laws.

It doesn't take a village to raise a child.
It takes one mother, and one father.

[Snestorm]

As a smoker who has quit I have to agree that smoking in the car is absolutely awful for anyone who is a non-smoker. The crap stinks. The kid is locked in the rolling smoke chamber. It is clear that smoking is bad for all involved. Good law..I support it and don't care who knows it. :O:

How anybody could smoke in a closed car, or truck, I have no idé.

I can't smoke unless the driver's window is fully open, which evacuates the smoke fully, especialy with my arm on the window ledge.
I don't do this because of breathing problems. I do it because the smoke, in an enclosed space, is irritating to my eyes, and the nicotine leaves a film on the glass (not good).

[Sailor Steve]

It doesn't take a village to raise a child.
It takes one mother, and one father.
That's also all it takes to destroy a child, who has no defense from them.

[Penguin]

That's also all it takes to destroy a child, who has no defense from them.

Ex-actly!

I also want to add, that this nuclear family thing might be a nice Utopia, in terms of pedagogy it is the best for a child to have (at least one) permanent person of reference.
And without the village, it would also be hard for the child to learn social behavior.