How toxic is the air inside a vehicle when someone is smoking? Are children really impacted by the secondhand smoke? Find out by viewing “Smoke-free Cars with Kids: A Scientific Demonstration of Secondhand Smoke Exposure” produced by the California Tobacco Control Program.
This cutting edge demonstration measures the dangerously high levels of fine particulate matter in a car with someone smoking and discusses the damaging health effects secondhand smoke has on children.
FACT: The EPA has attributed between 8,000 and 26,000 new cases of asthma each
year to secondhand smoke.
FACT: More than half of MN middle school students (58%) and three-fourths of MN
high school students (76%) reported that they were exposed to secondhand smoke
on one or more days in the past week, oftentimes in a car.
FACT: Opening a window isn�t enough. The deadly gases in secondhand smoke can
linger for hours even when windows are wide open.
FACT: Young children exposed to secondhand smoke appear to have a greater risk
of developing cavities and tooth decay.
FACT: In addition to harming kids, secondhand smoke is responsible for
approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths among nonsmoking adults each year in the
U.S.
FACT: Children and adolescents with at least one smoking parent have a 25% to 40%
increased risk of chronic respiratory symptoms such as cough, excess phlegm,
wheezing, and breathlessness.
FACT: 69% of St. Louis County residents would never allow a smoker to smoke in
their personal vehicle, such as their car, truck, or van.
