The Rotterdam pediatrician argues that smoking in cars with children should be banned

Smoking in public places such as hospitals, concert halls, airports and bars has been banned for many years. But car smoking is not banned in the Netherlands. Jasper Bean, a pediatrician at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, will be banned from smoking in a car in the pediatric subdivision. Second hand smoke can lead to serious health problems.

In some countries abroad, smoking in cars is already in effect in some parts of the UK, US and Canada. International research released on Friday shows that smoking cessation in cars with children leads to less than thirty percent exposure to tobacco smoke. In Scotland, the number of children admitted to hospital for asthma attacks has actually dropped since the introduction of these measures. Pediatrician Bean hopes the Netherlands will follow suit soon.

“We thought smoking was very common at work or in public places, but we can no longer think of it. I hope it will soon be applicable to smoking in the car with children.” He explains that the concentration of particles when smoking in a car, in a small, enclosed space, is eleven times higher than the concentration of particles in a ‘smoking bubble from the past’. “As a result, children can develop respiratory symptoms such as asthma attacks at a young age.”

The extent of the problem is clear from a survey of young people in Amersford last week. One in seven reported smoking in their car. “That means making more profit.”

He understood that smoking is a continuous addiction. “So it’s hard to get rid of it. But it’s important to protect the next generation of children. It has to become a smoke – free generation. This is one of the ways to protect them.

According to Bean, it is a question for politicians why there is no car ban on cars in the Netherlands. “The Netherlands is a bit more liberal, so I think there’s less option in arranging things in its own place.