BDHF welcomes new smoking ban in cars carrying children
On the 1st of October 2015, it became illegal to smoke in vehicles whilst travelling with passengers under the age of 18. According to the British Dental health foundation (BDHF), the leading dental charity in Britain, the new law will have a significant positive effect on children’s oral health.
In the past, the British Dental Health Foundation has emphasized the significance of the risk which is associated with passive smoking for the development children’s oral health. The BDHF believes that the new ban will have a positive impact in helping to protect young people against the dangers of inhaling second hand cigarette smoke.
The chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr. Nigel Carter OBE, stated that children are exposed to a “higher concentration of harmful chemicals when in the confined space of a car.” This means that they are more likely to suffer from the consequences of breathing in second hand smoke. Research has shown that smoking one cigarette in a car whilst the windows are closed produces, on average, 11 times higher levels of second hand smoke than in a bar where smoking is permitted. This figure shows the severity of the issue, which the new law hopes to reduce as a result of banning smoking in cars which contain minors.
Dr. Carter noted that this is particularly dangerous in regards to children whose dental health is still developing. Second hand smoke is dangerous as it can lead to tooth loss and gum disease. As well as this, it can aggravate breathing difficulties for those who suffer from asthma, and, in some cases, may create new cases of asthma for children. In more severe circumstances, second hand smoke can also lead to mouth or lung cancer. Smoking is the number 1 cause of mouth cancer, which kills around seven thousand people in Britain every year.
