Parents who forced their children to ingest a poisonous substance that could injure their health probably would be charged with abuse and have their children taken away.
Yet it’s perfectly legal for parents to threaten their children’s health in this state – as long as the poison is cigarette smoke.
That could change – and it’s about time. Health officials and anti- smoking advocates are looking for legislative sponsors for a bill to ban smoking in vehicles when children are present.
This is not ground-breaking law. Washington would be playing catch-up to Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine and California, states where it is illegal to smoke in a vehicle with children. And it’s already illegal in this state for child-care workers to smoke around children indoors or in vehicles.
The science supporting a wider ban is conclusive: The U.S. Surgeon General has stated that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. It kills more than 25,000 Americans each year, and poses a particular health risk to children’s developing lungs, increasing their chances of lifelong respiratory problems, allergies and asthma.
The California Environmental Protection Agency reports that secondhand smoke exposure in a closed car is comparable to what a firefighter might receive over four to eight hours fighting a wildfire. And a Canadian study showed that secondhand smoke triggers nicotine-withdrawal symptoms in about 5 percent of children exposed to it, including depressed mood, trouble sleeping and concentrating, irritability, anxiety and increased appetite.
At home, children can get away from the smoke. Not so in the enclosed environment of a car, where they are captive victims. Smoke levels can be even worse this time of year, when smokers are less likely to drive with their windows down.
The dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke are so well known today that it seems incredible that many adults still insist on smoking around their children. Educational campaigns and higher tobacco costs have been successful in cutting smoking rates, but there are still too many adults endangering their children’s health by exposing them to cigarette smoke.
Passing a law wouldn’t make all smokers change their behavior; witness the number of drivers who still talk on their cell phones despite a ban. But some smokers would abide by it, and at least their children would be protected.
Health officials need to step up educational efforts to impress on smokers how dangerous it is expose children to secondhand smoke. TV ads should make it clear that parents who care about their children’s health don’t smoke around them.
There is a role that shame can play here, and health officials shouldn’t be afraid to go there.
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