Smoking inside a vehicle is more dangerous to health than
previously thought, health experts said on Thursday.
Smoking inside vehicles makes the air 10 times more toxic than
the federal government says is hazardous for breathing, said
Kimberly Belshe, secretary of the California Health and Human
Services Agency.
She was making the remarks in downtown Los Angeles while
launching a campaign to ban smoking inside cars.
The city of Los Angeles enacted a newly enacted state law
unveiled on Thursday, which bans drivers from lighting up in the
presence of children.
"Our efforts to address the dangers of secondhand smoke in
California began over a decade ago," said Belshe.
"Today, our state continues to be a leader by ensuring that
children and youth traveling in cars are not exposed to secondhand
smoke," she said.
Under the "Smoke-free Cars with Minors" law, a violation is
punishable by a 100-dollar fine.
Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke have a greater risk
of asthma attacks, ear infections, bronchitis and pneumonia,
according to state health officials.
Long-term exposure has been linked to heart disease and lung
cancer in adults.
"Infants and children are especially susceptible to the harmful
effects of secondhand smoke," said Mark Horton, director of the
California Department of Public Health.
"Smoking in a car, or any confined space, increases the level of
pollution inhaled by children and adults, thereby increasing the
likelihood of suffering from the negative health effects of
secondhand smoke."
In 1994, smoking was banned in California workplaces. Four years
later, smoking was banned in bars.
(Xinhua News Agency January 4, 2008)