Stop smoking in cars

Forecourts across Cumbria are being asked to support a new campaign to stop parents smoking in their cars.

The Cumbria Tobacco Alliance, which includes public bodies such as Cumbria County Council and NHS Cumbria, is running the second hand smoke campaign alongside Smokefree North West.

Posters supporting the campaign have been sent to every petrol station in the county. These remind parents that smoking in cars with the window down is still harmful to other people in the car, especially children.

Su Sear is a public health specialist for NHS Cumbria and a member of the Cumbria Tobacco Alliance. She said: “We often talk about asking adults and parents who smoke to consider taking seven steps out of their homes while smoking in order to protect the health of others. However, when someone is driving, they can’t take seven steps out. So instead we ask that parents and adults just don’t smoke in their cars at all. Even if a child isn’t present every time they drive, tobacco smoke can linger on clothes and can still cause harm.

“We hope that these posters will remind people of these dangers and encourage more people to consider the impact their habit has on others, especially children, whose health is entirely vulnerable to second hand smoke.”