There has been a heightened awareness of the harm which tobacco smoke can cause children here in Syracuse.
New research has shown this problem is particularly problematic in cars. Therefore smoke-free car laws and more aggressive public health campaigns to protect children from tobacco related toxins should be instituted here in Syracuse.
Carla Kemp has reported for The American Academy of Pediatrics News "Children held captive in smoky vehicles",
http://bit.ly/lKC1Bl. According to the authors of this report it is totally unacceptable to subject children to any tobacco smoke exposure in cars. Co-author Dr. Winickoff has said "An infant strapped into a car seat is involuntarily and intensely exposed to more than 400 toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke. They have no voice and no choice in whether their parents smoke in the car." This observation should compel lawmakers here in Syracuse to demand that the legal rights of kids to be protected from tobacco smoke in cars be enacted into law here.
In this study by Dr. Winickoff and his colleagues conducted an analyses to determine the prevalence of tobacco smoke exposure in cars among children and examined factors which are associated with parents strictly enforcing a ban on smoking in their cars. In this study 28% of parents who smoked reported having a smoke-free car rule, and 22% reported having a strictly enforced car smoking ban. The factors found to be associated with parents having a smoking ban included having a younger child and not smoking as many cigarettes per day. 52% of the parents who smoked reported smoking with children present. It was reported that only 14% of parents said they had been advised by a pediatric health care provider to maintain a smoke-free car.
Dr. Winickoff has said "Because they have smaller air passages than adults, infants and children are more sensitive to chemicals in tobacco smoke and suffer increased asthma attacks and severe respiratory infections. Coupled with the finding that few pediatric health care providers advise against smoking in cars, these results highlight the need for improved pediatric interventions, public health campaigns and health policy regarding smoke-free car laws to protect children from tobacco smoke toxins. Setting strict rules about never smoking in cars will benefit the whole family and help reduce tobacco use nationally."
Photographer: Idea go
