Science shouldn't stand in the way of sound smoking policy: study

Gonzo

The Living Force
Interesting short article touching on the growing momentum toward anti-smoking policy in the absence of science. It certainly could have gone in much more detail, but it is interesting nonetheless that such a story would appear in MSM (well, not that Montreal is completely mainstream).

Gonzo

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Montreal Gazette (Canada) story, Jan. 10

Science shouldn't stand in the way of sound smoking policy: study

(From: _http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Science+shouldn+stand+sound+smoking+policy+study/4086184/story.html)

A new study is urging lawmakers not to let science get in the way of sound policy when it comes to laws on children's exposure to second-hand smoke in cars.

Smoking in cars carrying children should be banned whether or not science can prove exactly how risky it is, according to an article penned by Ray Pawson of the University of Leeds and published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

It's a call that's already been answered by eight Canadian provinces and territories that have outlawed the practice. Nova Scotia was the first to ban smoking in cars with children, introducing its bill in 2007.

Smoking in cars with children is still legal in Alberta, Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Newfoundland Labrador.

"This issue has unstoppable momentum," said Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society. "These laws have enormous public support and they have been easily adopted with all party support in provincial legislatures."

Pawson's article was written to ensure that momentum wasn't thrown off track by the discrediting practice of "sound bite science."

The sound bite in question was the oft-quoted statistic that smoking in a car is 23 times more toxic than smoking at home — a statement that has been disproven.

"There is good evidence to show that children's exposure to second-hand smoke in cars is dangerous," he said.

That evidence included the dangers of the fine particulates in the smoke, that children are susceptible to smoke, and that cars are not the only place where they are exposed. Determining just how much smoke was too much however depends on the length and frequency of exposure, the number of cigarettes consumed and the sensitivity of individual children.

"Trying to come up with some memorable measure of doom is, in the end, counterproductive. It leaves the door open to opponents to claim that the data are being manipulated."

Instead, Pawson recommends that policy-makers act despite uncertainty to prevent harm to children.

For Cunningham, the debate was over long before Pawson's article.

"There is no debate," he said. "There's much greater knowledge of the dangers of second-hand smoke than there was in the past and people, even smokers, don't want to expose their kids in a car."

Three countries—Mauritius, South Africa and Bahrain — have banned the practice.

rlindell@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/rebeccalindell

Timeline of Canadian provinces and some municipalities that banned smoking in the car with children

April 1, 2008 — Nova Scotia

May 15, 2008 — Yukon Territory

July 31, 2008 — Surrey, British Columbia

Sept. 1, 2008 — Okotoks, Alberta

Nov. 1, 2008 — White Rock, British Columbia

Nov. 30, 2008 — Richmond, British Columbia

Jan. 21, 2009 — Ontario

Apr. 7, 2009 — British Columbia

Jan. 1, 2010 — New Brunswick

Sept. 15, 2009 — Prince Edward Island

July 15, 2010 — Manitoba

Oct. 1, 2010 — Saskatchewan

July 2, 2011 — Leduc, Alberta

(Canadian Cancer Society)
 
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