Smoking :: Further support for ban on smoking in cars welcomed

The Australian Minister for Ageing, Christopher Pyne, has welcomed news that the Queensland State Government has supported his call to ban smoking in cars while children are present.

?I urged all states to pursue this policy at the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy, and it wasn?t well received, particularly by New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland,? he said.

?I was pleased to see in the news this morning that the Queensland Government has come around.

?This takes the tally from only one state supporting the idea to a commitment from Tasmania, South Australia and now Queensland.

?Someone under the age of 15 dies every week on average from a tobacco-related cause,? Mr Pyne said.

?Being confined within a car while an adult is smoking means that children and babies are unable to escape from the poisons and harmful particles contained in cigarette smoke through passive smoking.

?Children exposed to passive smoking, particularly in the confined space of a car, are more likely to experience such serious illnesses as pneumonia, middle ear infections and asthma attacks.

?There aren?t any excuses left for the remaining states to move to protect children from exposure to this danger,? he said.


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