Ontario doctors call for ban on smoking in cars with kids

Ontario physicians are calling for a provincial ban on smoking in vehicles carrying children in light of recent data showing accumulation of second-hand smoke particles is greater in vehicles than indoors.

"We now have evidence showing the harmful levels of second-hand smoke in a car are even more potent than we once believed," said Dr. Janice Willett, president of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), in a news release. "These important findings should be heard by both caregivers who smoke and our lawmakers so that children can be protected."

A study published in July 2007 in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology found that even when ventilation is present in the vehicle, concentrations of second-hand smoke are higher than in any other children's environment. In winter, when ventilation isn't an option, particles of second-hand smoke can be up to 60 times higher than in a smoke-free home.

Second-hand smoke has been linked in studies to the development in children of bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, middle-ear disease, lower respiratory tract infections, as well as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in infants.

Nova Scotia became the first province in Canada to ban smoking in cars with children, in December 2007. British Columbia has also recently announced it will be following suit.

"The provincial government has shown tremendous leadership in protecting the public and workers from second-hand smoke. Now is the time that our political leaders work together to further protect the health of Ontario's children," said Willett.

The OMA first released a study on the negative effects of second-hand smoke in 2004, titled Exposure to Second Hand-Smoke: Are we protecting our kids?.