Call for ban on smoking in cars

SMOKING SHOULD be banned in cars transporting children under 16, an anti-smoking lobby group has said.

Ash Ireland said there was irrefutable evidence to show that children in cars where adults smoked were being put at risk. A ban on smoking in cars carrying children had already been implemented in a number of states in the US, Canada, Cyprus and Australia.

"There is an abundance of evidence to show that passive smoke can reach very high levels in motor vehicles - and as children have higher respiratory rates and metabolism than adults , the risks for them are greatly enhanced," Dr Angie Brown, chairwoman of Ash Ireland, said.

The organisation launched a campaign calling for the ban in February of this year and yesterday it said it was very disappointed it had not received a positive response from the Government.

"I urge the Government and especially our Minister for Health and Children to consider this issue again in early 2009," Dr Brown said.

The organisation said it was important Ireland did not become complacent about the prevalence of smoking in the State, as 7,000 people died from tobacco use each year and billions were spent on health services in treating tobacco-related illness.

Dr Brown said that if the impact of tobacco on society were reduced, "we will save lives and be in a position to divert millions of euro annually to other seminars within our health service".