Smoking should be banned in cars transporting children under the age of 16 years, the anti-smoking lobby group Ash Ireland said yesterday, writes Eithne Donnellan.
Launching its campaign for the introduction of such a ban, it said there was an abundance of evidence to show that passive smoke is particularly harmful to children.
Dr Angie Brown, chairperson of Ash Ireland, said a ban on smoking in cars carrying children had already been put in place in a number of states in the US, Canada and Australia. A ban is also in place in Cyprus and is under consideration in the Netherlands.
The state of Colorado, in banning smoking in cars carrying children, based its decision on evidence which showed that a car can be 23 times more toxic than a house in the context of passive smoke, given that space in it is so confined, she said.
"There is significant evidence to show that children exposed to passive smoke are much more likely to develop asthma and lung infections. The Royal College of Physicians in London published evidence in 2005 which added to the substantial body of evidence which shows that passive smoke is harmful for children - especially in the early years of development," she said.
"Children are unlikely to ask adults to stop smoking - so we must take this important decision out of their hands," she added.
She said Ash Ireland would much prefer a total ban on smoking in cars but as an interim measure it was urging the Minister for Health Mary Harney to ban smoking in cars transporting children under 16 years of age.
The ban could be introduced in the coming months, she said.
Asked if there were any plans to implement a ban on smoking in cars, the Department of Health in a statement indicated there were no plans to do so in the short term. It said it wasn't clear there would be a significant amount of support for the move.
"Encouraging smoking cessation and introducing measures to control smoking is a balance between what people will accept and what will lead to public resistance," it said, adding that there was anecdotal evidence of less smoking in homes and in family cars since the introduction of the ban on smoking in workplaces, which was introduced in 2004.
"Smoke-free at work was confined to workplaces because it was clear that there would be sufficient public support for such a measure to make it successful; it was not clear that there would be a similar level of support for measures to regulate smoking in homes or in family cars and this remains the situation.
"In the medium to long term, this position will change and the possibility of introducing such a measure will be kept under review," it said.
"Smoking is already banned in vehicles [ including cars] that are used in the course of employment as they constitute workplaces," it added.
Dr Brown, a consultant cardiologist, said she would be seeking a meeting with Ms Harney to impress on her the importance of a ban on smoking in cars carrying children.
"I actually feel there would be a great deal of support for a ban . . . there is so much epidemiological evidence that it worsens asthma if children have it and it seems to predispose to asthma in later life. It also increases the amount of respiratory tract infections and bronchitis that children get," she said.
She added that having a window open in a car while smoking did not protect children from the harmful effects of passive smoking.
Anyone who would like advice or information on quitting smoking can contact the National Smokers' Quitline on 1850 201 203