Saying that smoking in cars exposes people to 23 times more toxins than a smoky bar, the British Medical Association is calling on the government to make cars smokefree.
Children, they note, are particularly vulnerable to the poisons contained in secondhand smoke.
Some countries, such as Canada and Australia, already require cars to be smokefree when children are riding in them. Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Maine and Puerto Rico have followed suit, according to information compiled by Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights.
In the District several years ago, D.C. Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) introduced a similar bill to prohibit smoking in cars when children are present but never pursued it.