Lawmakers look at ban on smoking in cars with kids

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published February 07, 2008

Arguing that exposure to cigarette smoke is especially harmful to children, some lawmakers are backing bills that would make it illegal to smoke in cars when children are present.

Scientists set a pair of laptop computers on top of a Pontiac Grand Am on Wednesday and had someone inside light up in hopes of showing evidence of that harm.

Sensors monitored the number of particles in the air inside the car, showing a spike on the computers' displays.

"That would be about 40 times the hazardous level," said David Kalman, a chemist from the University of Washington.

After a cigarette had been smoked inside the car, the air in the backseat had 10 milligrams of material per cubic meter. Anything above 0.25 milligrams per cubic meter is considered a health hazard by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Early exposure to tobacco smoke is linked to increased ear infections, lung infections and instances of sudden infant death syndrome for children, said Dr. Catherine Karr, also of the university. It's linked to increases in the risk of adult cancer, she added.

But how many trips a child would have to take in a smoked-filled car before his or her health definitely was harmed is less clear, Karr said.

"We don't really know the safe level of carcinogens," she said. "What we do know is that even a short, high exposure can cause the cascade of effects."

Anticipating opponents' arguments to the proposed law, Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, D-Normandy Park, said it was not overly intrusive.

"We're not saying you can't smoke in the privacy of your own car," she said. "We're just saying, think about your children when they're in the car, and don't do it when they're in there."