British Doctors Encourage Smoking Ban in Vehicles

"The British Medical Association said that the confined environment in automobiles exposes drivers and passengers to 23 times more toxins than a smokey bar."

Many areas of the world currently have bans preventing smokers from lighting up in restaurants and bars, on public sidewalks and plazas, in some condos and multifamily housing units, and in public transportation vehicles. Some communities have banned the use of cigarettes in private vehicles where children are present. In the United States, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, and Oregon current prohibit smoking in vehicles with more bans proposed across the country.

The number of toxic chemicals emitted due to the combustion process that occurs when cigarettes burn cause a variety of health problems including crippling lung diseases and cancer. Eliminating some 4,000 toxic chemicals and at least 40 known carcinogens from the air and surfaces is aimed at protecting those who do not smoke, including the youngest population of the world.

Dr. Jonathan Whiteson, director of the cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation and wellness center at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City stated, Smoking in enclosed spaces is especially dangerous. Outdoors, smoke gets carried away on the breeze - one puff and it goes away. In a car, the smoke is recycled. Unfortunately simply cleaning the air is not enough to eliminate the toxins from enclosed areas. Cigarette smoke quickly settles into fabric, carpet, and the cushioning in vehicles. The imposed risk of this smoke is referred to as third-hand smoke.

Third-hand smoke is the contamination left on surfaces after secondhand smoke has cleared. Studies conducted found eleven carcinogens remaining on surfaces including one radioactive element polonium-210. The current risk assessment of third-hand smoke is unknown, but it is suspected that infants and young children are more at-risk to exposure to these chemicals due to time spent playing on the floor or picking up food and eating it without first washing their hands. In vehicles, the residual carcinogens can be found in all areas including on seat belts, door handles, and can also be transferred to clothing from sitting. One hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana has passed a ban set to be enforced beginning in July 2012 that will prohibit employees who smell of smoke from working due to the risks associated with third-hand smoke to patients, especially infants and children.

Medical professionals around the world understand the dangers of smoking, secondhand smoke, and third-hand smoke more than the average adult. In looking at the precautions those facilities are taking to ensure that their patients are not exposed to carcinogens and allergens from smoke in comparison with the scientific evidence of the dangers, it is easy to understand why the potential increase of smoking bans extending into automobiles is presented. As more persons take time to educate themselves on the risks, we are likely to see the right to smoke prohibited to private residences; as long as those residences are not a multifamily building including apartments or condominiums.