National Non-smoking Week: Let's protect our children against second-hand smoke

MONTREAL, Jan. 23, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Exposure to second-hand smoke in a confined space is extremely harmful for anyone, but it is especially damaging for a growing child. As part of the Quebec Tobacco-Free Week, the Quebec Lung Association, the Association of Pediatricians of Quebec and the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control are joining their voices to call on the Marois government to ban smoking in cars when kids are present — as is already the case in nine other provinces as well as many countries.¹

The harmful effects of second-hand smoke on children are well known. Children are especially vulnerable to tobacco smoke as they breathe faster than adults, meaning they inhale and absorb more pollutants per kilogram of body weight than adults. Proportional to their weight, kids ingest considerable amounts of toxic chemicals that adversely affect their development and that of their respiratory, immune and nervous systems.

Continuous or regular exposure of children to second-hand smoke can have serious and irreparable consequences for the rest of their lives: they are more likely to develop asthma (and the wheezing that ensues), allergies, bronchitis, pneumonia, and run the risk of suffering from chronic cough and painful ear infections.

"Quebec played a pioneering role in the fight against smoking, especially with respect to the protection against second-hand smoke. Already in 1986, the Honourable Clifford Lincoln, then Minister of the Environment, adopted the Act Respecting the Protection of Non-smokers in Certain Public Places. What are we waiting for, 25 years later, to protect children from second-hand smoke in a place as enclosed as a car?" asked Dr. Gaston Ostiguy, Vice-President of Scientific Affairs at the Quebec Lung Association and pulmonary specialist at the Montreal Chest Institute.

"Education campaigns have their limits. It is unacceptable that 89,000 youth aged 12 to 19 are still exposed almost daily to second-hand smoke in cars, not to mention the tens of thousands of toddlers who are similarly exposed," deplores Dr. Pascale Hamel, President of the Association of Pediatricians of Quebec. "The government must intervene, just as it did for seat belts, car seats and cell phones."

According to the Survey on Youth Smoking², over a quarter (26%) of high school students in Quebec say they rode in a smoke-filled car in the past seven days. "Unfortunately, almost half of smokers mistakenly believe that opening a car's window will protect passenger from exposure to second-hand smoke³," adds Mrs. Flory Doucas, spokesperson for the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control. "A law banning smoking in cars with kids will also raise awareness amongst smoking parents — who incidentally love their children as much as any other parent."

Dominique Massie, Executive Director of The Quebec Lung Association, argues that "it is unacceptable that children in Quebec are forced to breathe tobacco smoke in cars simply because one or more passengers smoke. This is a serious public health problem that affects our most vulnerable citizens. We consider this particularly appalling, given that every other province in Canada has passed a law banning smoking in cars with kids. Only Quebec has taken no such steps."

Tobacco smoke contains some 7,000 chemicals, 69 of which are formally recognized as carcinogenic. Furthermore, the concentration of these contaminants is greater in second-hand smoke than in the smoke inhaled by smokers,⁴ Some of these substances are known to be highly toxic, including acetone (nail polish remover), ammonia (detergent), methanol (rocket fuel), butane (fuel), toluene (industrial solvent), DDT (powerful insecticide) and arsenic (poison)! "This is why it is so critical to address children's' exposure to second-hand smoke in enclosed places such as cars," adds Ms. Massie.

The Quebec Lung Association, the Association of Pediatricians of Quebec and the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control are asking the provincial government to take action. "We are calling on all members of the National Assembly concerned by our children's health to support the Minister of Health in addressing the urgent and widespread problem of kids being exposed to tobacco smoke while driving in a car" concludes Mrs. Massie.

¹ Coalition québécoise pour le contrôle du tabac. « Fumée secondaire dans les autos en présence d'enfants », document-synthèse, juillet 2012. http://www.cqct.qc.ca/Documents_docs/DOCU_2012/DOCU_12_07_30_FTS_Autos_Enfants.pdf

² Propel Center for Population Health Impact. "Youth Smoking Survey, Results profile for Quebec", page 5, http://www.yss.uwaterloo.ca/results/yss10_EN_Provincial%20Report_QC_20120514.pdf

³ Institut national de santé publique du Québec. « Habitudes tabagiques des fumeurs québécois après l'interdiction de fumer visant certains lieux publics », juillet 2010. http://www.inspq.qc.ca/pdf/publications/1157_HabTabagInterdictionFumerLieuxPublics.pdf

⁴ US Surgeon General. "How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease - A Report of the Surgeon General Executive Summary", 2010, page iii. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/tobaccosmoke/index.html

SOURCE: COALITION QUÉBÉCOISE POUR LE CONTRÔLE DU TABAC

Mrs. Flory Doucas, Co-director, Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control: [phone]
Dominique Massie, Executive Director, The Quebec Lung Association: [phone]