Is the smoking ban in the car because of the children?

No smoking: Protect children in the car from passive smoking
Smoking endangers not only your own health, but also those of people who also need to breathe the unpleasant smoke. Health experts therefore appeal to parents, at least in the presence of children not to smoke, especially in the car. Some demand a ban.

No smoking in the car
"Smoking harms you and the people around you significantly." These and similar sayings can be found on cigarette packs. It has long been known that tobacco consumption does not only endanger one's own health, but also those of others, who also need to inhale the smoke. Years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned: Passive smoking kills 600,000 people every year.

It is particularly bad when children are exposed to the unhealthy smoke. In the UK, the problem is now being addressed with a new law. Since 1 October there is a statutory smoking ban in the car when the children are there. In Germany, too, the call for further measures to protect non-smokers is becoming louder.

Smoking in the car: Doctors call for a ban when children are present. Image: Photographee.eu - Fotolia

Protect children from passive smoking
In a press release of the German Medical Association (Association of German Medical Associations) e.V. states that the legislature should follow the example of Great Britain. "It is urgently necessary to effectively protect children and adolescents traveling by car from passive smoking," Dr. Josef Mischo, chairman of the working group "addiction and drugs" of the German Medical Association. The BÄK also supports the initiative of the Federal Drug Commissioner Marlene Mortler, who recently advocated such a ban on smoking.

Cigarette smelting also leads to diseases in non-smokers
"Children suffer more from passive smoking than adults," says Mischo. It not only leads to acute and chronic respiratory diseases, but also aggravates already existing asthma and increase the high blood pressure. German researchers also found out years ago that the risk of developing type II diabetes is significantly increased when people are constantly exposed to cigarette smoke from a smoker. And US scientists have found that especially children are more likely to get a otitis media when they grow up in a smoker's household. In addition, secondhand smoke is a major risk factor for sudden infant death in infants.

Appeal to the reason of the parents
The health burden in the car is particularly high. "In the passenger compartment, the pollutant concentration is even higher than that of an average smoked bar," explained Mischo. But even if politicians and health experts demand appropriate regulations, my critics that they could hardly control. In such cases, police would have to look for smoking car drivers with children sitting in the vehicle. The effectiveness of a ban is therefore questionable. Rather, the reason of the parents should be appealed to protect their children. (Ad)