Daily HealthBeat Tip

The smoking car

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

When a grown-up and a kid are in a car and the grown-up lights a cigarette, who smokes?

Both of them, it seems.

Researchers strapped a pollution monitor in a child seat, and had smoking drivers light up. The researchers measured pollution particles from the burning cigarettes with just the driver’s window open a couple inches, and then with all windows open.

So how were pollution levels?

Vaughan Rees of the Harvard School of Public Health:

"They were higher than what we’ve seen in smoky pubs and restaurants in the Boston area. And even when windows were open we still saw high levels of secondhand smoke." (nine seconds)

The study was in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

A Surgeon General’s report warns there is no risk-free, safe level of secondhand smoke – for kids or anyone else.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: December 13, 2006

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