Wednesday, 17 June 2009

It had to happen sooner or later

From the BBC:

Adults should be banned from smoking in cars when children are passengers, the new head of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has said.

In a BBC News website Scrubbing Up column, Professor Terence Stephenson, said children deserved protection. "You can't inflict this on your colleagues any more. Why should we treat our children's health as a lower priority?" he said.

A Department of Health spokesman said it would review smoking laws next year.

11 comments:

Roue le Jour said...

I'm surprised parents are allowed to smoke at home, to be honest.

JuliaM said...

Give it time, they probably won't be before long...

Dick Puddlecote said...

I take it that was tongue in cheek, RlJ?

This story has been all over BBC radio this morning, and as Simon Clark observes:

the "smoking should be banned in cars where children are present" story is based on ... a column on the BBC website!!

So, an unelected quack gives his opinion on the web-site of an 'unbiased' broadcaster, who then spend the day advocating the idea over all of its media.

Thereby softening up the public, conveniently for a government which is itching to follow ASH's orders yet again (this measure is also in the ASH 'manifesto' - just after hiding tobacco and banning vending machines).

Who is running this 'democratic' country, again?

Dick Puddlecote said...

Apologies, link for the Simon Clark quote.

Stan said...

I'm not a smoker - apart from the very rare cigar (three or four times a year) - but such pronouncements make me so angry that I actually feel like starting smoking out of pique!

Millions of kids like me grew up at a time when cigarette smoke was everywhere. In cafes, trains, cars, buses - even shops - without any ill effects.

Much more dangerous - in my opinion - is the rise of the diesel engined road vehicle which spews out carcinogens and particulates like there is no tomorrow. How odd, then, that our government actually encourage the use of these vehicles even though they are proven to be detrimental to health - particularly childrens health.

Pogo said...

I was under the impression that the only statistically-significant result from the W.H.O. study on "Environmental Tobacco Smoke" was that for children exposed to "second-hand smoke"... It indicated that they suffered a lower incidence of smoking-related illnesses in later life.

Blow smoke on your kids folks... It's good for them! :-)

Nick M said...

I saw this on BBC News24.

The took the new Chief Peadophile's words as gospel and the only stats were from ASH. Although frankly it sounded more like from the Good Prof's ASS.

But this part of the interview was priceless:

BBC twonk says: You say you were damaged by your parents smoking in the car.
Prof:(after some muntering)I don't have asthma but if I did I'd be very upset...

Pogo said...

What the fuck has asthma got to do with it? When I was a kid, in the 1950s, a lot of people smoked, everywhere, all the time. There was very little incidence of childhood asthma. Despite our relatively sterile atmosphere there's much, much more of it about now.

Prof Brignell posits that it's more likely due to the increasing incidence of fitted carpets - an excellent home for the house-dust-mite which is a known asthma-inducing irritant.

Anonymous said...

Pogo, it's a combination of fitted carpets and double glazing that provides the hermetically sealed environment for the dust mites to thrive.

Anonymous said...

If it's fitted carpets that are the issue, the incidence of asthma should be declining now. Fitted carpets are SOOOO 1990's.

Personally I blame the excessive cleanliness which comes with today's safety-at-any-cost lifestyle.

No dirt, no immune system - seems reasonable.

dearieme said...

I blame central heating.