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 England banned smoking in vehicles carrying kids in 2015, and
Scotland followed suit in 2016, researchers note in Thorax. To
assess how the first smoking ban impacted secondhand smoke exposure,
they examined survey data collected in 2012, 2014 and 2016 from
15,318 teens in England and 822 in Scotland.
During the study period, the proportion of youth ages 13 to 15 who
reported being exposed to secondhand smoke in cars dropped from 6.3%
to 1.6% in England and from 3.4% to 1.3% in Scotland, the study
found. The ban in England was associated with a 72% reduction in
exposure to tobacco smoke among teens in this age group.
The much bigger drop in secondhand smoke exposure in England, where
the ban took effect during the study period, suggests that the law
likely played a role, said lead study author Anthony Laverty of
Imperial College London.
"Smoking exposes children to air pollutants and chemicals such as
tar, arsenic and formaldehyde," Laverty said by email.
It can cause a range of childhood health problems and is associated
with an increased risk of sudden infant death, asthma and lower
respiratory tract infections, Laverty said. The risks associated
with secondhand smoke exposure can be worse inside cars because
pollutants are concentrated in a small enclosed place.
"We know that children with a parent who smokes will be more likely
to be exposed to secondhand smoke, which put them at increased risk
for infections and other potentially serious diseases," Laverty
said. "We also know that they will be more likely to take up smoking
themselves."
The study focused on young teens who could respond to their own
survey questions instead of having a parent provide answers on their
behalf. Children were asked how often, over the past year, they had
traveled in a car with an adult who smoked during the journey.
Girls and young people from lower-income communities were more
likely to report secondhand smoke exposure in cars, the study also
found.
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The study can't prove whether or how the ban might have directly
affected smoke exposure in cars. It also didn't evaluate health
outcomes.
"Secondhand smoke is the air pollution created by smoking cigarettes
during the 90% of the time that the cigarette is not being smoked,"
said Jodi Prochaska, a researcher at Stanford University in
California who wasn't involved in the study. It contains "more than
7,000 chemicals, including approximately 70 known cancer-causing
agents such as formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic,
ammonia and hydrogen cyanide," she noted.
Even though nonsmokers receive a much lower total dose of these
chemicals than the smoker, the effects on blood vessels, blood and
the heart are surprisingly large, she added.
Smoking in a vehicle with the windows closed can also generate more
than 100 times the EPA's 24-hour recommended exposure limit to
particles that irritate the respiratory system and can seep from the
lungs into the bloodstream, Prochaska said.
"Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung
growth in their children," Prochaska, who has consulted for drug and
technology companies on smoking cessation treatments, said by email.
"The scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level
of exposure to secondhand smoke," Prochaska said. "Only eliminating
smoking in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to
secondhand smoke - ventilation systems do not eliminate exposures."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/37CJ4HE Thorax, online January 27, 2020.
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