Burlington, Vermont- An online report released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control says too many kids are breathing in secondhand smoke.
The report says this kind of secondhand smoke exposure has been linked with breathing problems and allergy symptoms, and more restrictions are needed to prevent it.
In 2012, lighting up a cigarette in a public place is prohibited. But there are no restrictions when it comes to smoking in a vehicle and that is why health organizations are urging adults to not smoke in cars when children are riding along.
Back in the day, you could smoke just about everywhere. Take the award winning show, Mad Men, based in the 1960's where you could smoke at the office, during dinner and even on an airplane.
Fast forward 50 some years, in most states smoking in a public place is against the law. However, people can still light up in their cars and homes, which is why the CDC is sending a message to parents warning the dangers of secondhand smoke around kids, especially in a vehicle.
"What I'd really like to see is parents caring enough about their kids to not smoke in the car with them," says Dr. Gerald S. Davis, a lung specialist at Fletcher Allen Health Care.
He says smoking in the car has dangerous consequences for young children.
"They're defenseless, they may be too young to speak up and say this is bothering me and yet they are being exposed to really high concentrations of second hand smoke, almost as much as if they were puffing on a cigarette," said Davis.
The health risks Davis says include a high risk for developing lung cancer.
The CDC says one in five kids ride in cars when someone is smoking. At least 5 states in the U.S. have banned smoking in a car with children, but Davis says education might be the best way to reach parents.
"It's extremely difficult both to regulate what goes on in a closed car or what goes on in a home much less the issue of freedom of choice," said Davis.
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