Remember smoke-free cars protect children’s health

North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit
News Release

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The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit is observing National Non-Smoking Week by encouraging the public to remember that smoke-free cars protect children’s health. The Health Unit congratulates residents that have made the choice to protect their children from second-hand smoke by making their homes and vehicles smoke-free. Nationally, four out of five Canadians reported that their homes were smoke-free and nearly three-quarters have made their vehicles smoke-free, according to a 2006 study done by the Canadian Cancer Society.

“The evidence is clear that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke,” says Tom Zink, the Health Unit’s project manager for the tobacco control unit. “So we are urging parents, caregivers or any adults traveling with children to protect them by keeping their vehicles smoke-free. All passengers, especially young children, have the right to be protected.”

To grow up healthy, children need to breathe clean air. In the smaller, more confined space in vehicles, second-hand smoke can be up to 23 times more toxic than in the home, according to evidence cited in 2004 by the Ontario Medical Association. Second-hand smoke also affects infants and children more than adults because their lungs are still growing and they breathe more rapidly than adults do.

Even smoking when children aren’t in the vehicle puts them at risk, since the hazardous particles and gases from second-hand smoke can remain in dust and upholstery for weeks or months. The only way to protect children from the negative health effects of second-hand smoke is to make vehicles smoke-free.

Here are some tips for keeping vehicles smoke-free:

• Post a “smoke-free vehicle” window sticker

• Tell all your passengers that your vehicle is smoke-free

• Plan smoke breaks on long trips

• Keep cigarettes out of reach while driving

• Give your car interior a good wash and vacuum

• Remove the lighter from the car and find other uses for the ashtray (sugar-free candies, coins)

For more information about protecting children and others from second-hand smoke, contact the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit’s Tobacco Control Unit at
(705)474-1400 or (800)563-2808. Online visit www.healthunit.biz

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