Calls to ban smoking in cars with children in UK

A smoking ban in all cars to protect children from exposure to second hand smoke should be implemented, a UK politician says.

Labour MP Alex Cunningham says that the move would have “tremendous” health benefits as children are very vulnerable to passive smoking and cannot remove themselves from smoky environments.

Research shows that approximately 300,000 children in the UK each year have to visit the doctor because of health problems caused by second hand smoke.

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In addition to this, there are 20,000 new cases of asthma and wheezing in children every year in UK.

It is also believed that the concentration of passive smoke in a car is equal to the amount that is present in smoke-filled pub.

Research by the British Lung Foundation found that 86 percent of children want smoking in cars to be made illegal.

Meanwhile, 51 percent of eight to 15-year-olds questioned said they would feel too embarrassed to ask an adult to stop smoking in their presence.

Cunningham said that he was fully aware that the car was a “private” space but argued that it was children’s space too.

“Adults can make up their mind about the dangers of smoking. It is children we need to protect,” he said.

“The fact that children can be exposed to such an environment in cars is reason enough to bring in a ban on smoking in private vehicles where they are present.”

A ban of this nature has already been implemented in some US states and also countries including Canada and Australia.