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One
Stop - New You - Right Now
Smoking
ban in vehicles carrying children
Doctors
seek Ontario legislation
By
Lauren La Rose
Canadian
Press Feb. 1 2007
Toronto
Ontario
residents are ready for a ban on smoking in vehicles carrying children,
and it's time for the provincial government to enforce one, a representative
of the Ontario Medical Association said Wednesday.
"What
we're finding is that the public is heavily on side for this and
is coming more heavily on side with time," sid Dr. Ted Broadway,
a health consultant for OMA, which represents 25,000 doctors across
the province.
"And
we're also seeing some other communities in North America in particular
are beginning to take this up and do something about it, and we
haven't yet in Ontario."
Broadway
cited figures from the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit that showed
support in the province for such a ban increased from 68 per cent
in 2002 to 78 per cent in 2005.
Sixty
- six per cent of Ontario smokers and 81 per cent of non-smokers
supported the ban in 2005, compared to 50 per cent and 73 per cent,
respectively, in 2002. The OMA issued a statement to follow in the
footsteps of Bangor, Maine, which approved a new law Jan. 8 prohibiting
people from smoking in vehicles transporting children.
Violators
face fines up to $50 US.
Ontario
doctors said Wednesday they applaud the province's smoking ban that
went into effect last year, but added that more must be done to
increase awareness that adult tobacco use is also a child health
problem.
A
2004 report by the OMA found that second-hand smoke is 23 times
more toxic in a car than in a house.
"The
fact is that in cars you reach some of the highest toxic levels
of these poisons that you reach anywhere," Broadway said.
Even
very short exposure to second-hand smoke can trigger an asthmatic
attack in children, while effects on lung health have a long-term
impact, Broadway said.
Those
are things you can't measure at the time, but unfortunately have
catastrophic effects later"
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