Just a 10-minute stay of the child in the car with a parent, allowing himself to smoke even one cigarette in the presence of the baby, increases the amount of harmful substances daily entering his body up to 30%. A corresponding study was conducted by employees of the international organization "Tobacco Control", whose activity is based on the fight against smoking.
“The rates of air pollution inside the car where the cigarette was smoked exceeded all our expectations. They turned out to be much higher than in bars, restaurants and casinos. But almost every visitor to such establishments regularly uses tobacco products,” experts express their fears. They also add that second-hand smoke is harmful not only to the respiratory organs of the child, but also to his immune system, brain function and protection against allergic diseases.
During the experiment, researchers using special instruments monitored the level of air pollution in the passenger compartment. Devices that fix the amount of harmful substances contained in it were placed in the rear seats, at the height of the child’s breathing. For 1 hour in the driver's seat was a smoker who, in the allotted time, was supposed to use 3 cigarettes. The experiment was repeated two times - for the first time the window located near the driver opened halfway, the second time - completely.
It turned out that during both stages of the study, the level of solid harmful particles in the car ranged from 764.1 μg / m³ - with the front glass fully lowered, and up to 1172.1 μg / m³ when the window was only half open. The average nicotine level in the car ranged from 5.06 μg / m³ to 411.3 μg / m³, depending on the position of the window.
After examining the results of this work, experts came to the conclusion that even a short stay of a child in the same car with a smoker causes serious damage to his health, the consequences of which can be many different diseases, including asthma and cancer.
