While smoking habit by itself is not very healthy one, smoking and
driving combination may cause additional negative consequences you might not think
about before. And it is not limited by the lower value of your car, when you
try to sell it…
Still, as you know, smoking while
driving is pretty much a common event.
Habit of Smoking and Driving
It is quite understandable that smoking is associated with particular
life triggers. While for different people they might be dissimilar as well,
there are some, which can be labeled as common for many smokers, for example,
smoking after lunch, or smoking while talking on the phone. So, many smokers report that they cognitively
pair getting into a vehicle with lighting a cigarette. The habit is so strong
for some that counselors often recommend that they first quit smoking in the
car before attempting quitting smoking altogether. Some tips include cleaning
the car of ashes and ridding the smell, and replacing smoking with something
else, such as holding and sipping a bottle of water.
Secondhand Smoke in Cars
The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that secondhand smoke
is a cancer-causing agent. In the research, the agency found levels of
secondhand smoke in vehicles, tested under various ventilation conditions, far
exceeded levels collected from smoky bars and restaurants. The American Academy
of Pediatrics reported that exposure to secondhand smoke is particularly
harmful to children. Further, exposure may be associated with developing cancer
as adults. The report recommends that children are protected from exposure in
vehicles.
The Worldwide boost
to consider smoking in the car as dangerous activity for kids inside has been
received based on the 2009 study, showing up that passengers riding in the cars
of smokers are exposed to nicotine levels nearly twice those found in
restaurants and bars that permit smoking. The dangers of exposure to secondhand
smoke are well known, including the risk for heart and respiratory disease, and
have led to laws banning smoking in many public places. Many anti-smoking
advocates believe the next frontier in the fight against secondhand smoke is in
cars.
"These levels of exposure are unacceptable for nonsmoking passengers, particularly children, who are at increased risk for secondhand smoke-related health problems," said study co-author Patrick Breysse, director of the Division of Environmental Health Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Even opening the
window or switching on the air-conditioner when a smoker lights up leaves
significant amounts of nicotine in the air, according to the study. In fact
smokers who put their windows down all the way averaged more nicotine in the
air, perhaps because they tended to be heavier smokers or perhaps because the
air whipping around inside their cars distributed smoke and nicotine more
widely, said Dr. Ana Navas-Acien, one of the researchers.
Smoking Ban in Cars with Minors Present
The multiple accumulated reports caused several countries, the USA
States, and even local communities passing Laws restricting smoking in the
cares, with children present.
For example, in 2007, Bangor, a city in Maine, passed an ordinance
banning smoking in cars when a minor is present. Violators are issued a $50
fine. Advocates are motivated to protect children from secondhand exposure.
Smoke-free car laws seem to be gaining support in the U.S. and abroad. Results
from a 2008 review of 15 studies concerning public attitudes about a smoking
ban in cars with minors present found high levels of support, even among
smokers.
In 2009, a new
Ontario law made it illegal to smoke in a motor vehicle in the presence of a
child under age 16. The Smoke-Free Ontario Act applies to drivers and
passengers and to both moving and stationary vehicle, regardless of whether
windows, sunroofs or doors are open. These violations carry fines of up to $250
and are enforced by police. The same year, the British Columbia government has
set $109, as the fine, for those caught smoking in vehicles with children under
the age of 16.
As of today, California,
Louisiana, Arkansas, Hawaii, Utah, Maine, and Puerto Rico are the states in the
nation that have outlawed smoking in cars with kids.
Distractions and Traffic Accidents
A study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, and conducted by
the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, reported that
only 0.9 percent of police-reported accidents involving a towed vehicle from
the crash site were attributed to a smoking-related event. The study used data
from the Crashworthiness Data System from five years. The most common
distractions constituting over 50 percent of accidents were distractions from
outside the vehicle, adjusting the radio and another passenger. 0.9 percent is
a small number, but converted to the actual number of crashes it gives approximately 12,780 crashes over the 5 year
period examined.
However, several
studies have found that smoking while driving increases the risk of being
involved in a crash. Study performed by Brison used a case-controlled study to
investigate the risk of a motor vehicle crash in smokers and non-smokers. A
self-administered questionnaire was sent out to 1,000 people known to be
involved in a motor accident and 1,100 controls who had not been involved in a
crash, to obtain information on each driver’s smoking status. The results
revealed that smokers had an increased risk of being involved in a motor
accident than non-smokers and the tendency to smoke while driving further
increased this risk. Brison concluded that the association between smoking and
increased crash risk could be the result of three factors: distraction caused
by smoking, behavioral differences between smokers and non-smokers, and
carbon-monoxide toxicity.
Another Italian study
was focused in particular on the risk assessment of distraction of smoking
habits while driving vehicles. Researchers have compared the results with the
data about driving distraction using mobile phone without voice devices. They
video-recorded 10 smokers - 4 male and 6 female - smoking cigarettes, while
driving a car. The average of measured driving distraction of smokers was about
12 seconds. It means to cover a distance of 160 meters with a speed of 50 Km/h.
Comparing to the use of mobile phone, for which the data of driving distraction
showed duration of 10.6 seconds, translated in a distance of 150 meters at the
speed of 50 Km/h. These results suggest that cigarette smoking produces a
remarkable risk for road safety, even more than the mobile phone use, practice
outlawed in many countries.
In addition to the conditions that produced a
considerable driving distraction of smokers, the study demonstrated substantial
shortage of oxygen, the presence of carbon monoxide and high concentration of
other health affecting substances in the air breathed inside the vehicle.
British Rule 148 of
the Highway Code also advises drivers not to smoke while driving. Smoking
requires the driver to take out a cigarette, find a lighter and light the
cigarette, all of which are both a mental and physical distraction. It is a
mental distraction because at least part of the driver’s attention is on
finding and lighting a cigarette (and it is understandable that driving is
impaired when a driver’s attention is divided) and a physical distraction
because the driver has to use at least one hand to deal with the cigarette.
Once lit, smoke
from the cigarette may inhibit the driver’s vision (smokers very often squint
while smoking) and the lit cigarette could fall from the driver’s lips or hand,
causing further distraction while the driver tries to retrieve it before it
starts a fire.
Among other
non-recommended activities while driving are:
- loud music
(this may mask other sounds)
- trying to
read maps
- inserting
a cassette or CD or tuning a radio
- eating and
drinking
Rule 149 of the
Highway Code also states that drivers MUST NOT smoke in public transport
vehicles or in vehicles used for work purposes. The latter includes company
cars and vans.
Cigarette Butts out Car Window
Throwing cigarette butts out a car window is littering. Annually,
smokers litter about 4.5 trillion cigarette butts. Cigarette filters are not
biodegradable, and rather degrade slowly since they're made of a type of
plastic. Research by Clean Virginia Waterways, an affiliate of Longwood
University, concluded that littered cigarette butts are toxic to the
environment and small animals. Further, cigarette butts tossed from vehicles
have been attributed to causing a number of land and forest fires. If the ground is dry, the heat from the lit
cigarette butt can cause a brush fire or wild fire, which can spread to forests
and other nearby vegetation, causing millions of dollars in damage and even
occasional injuries.
Tossing that
cigarette butt in a windy area can even cause damage to other vehicles. If it
lands on another vehicle, the ashes and heat can cause damage to the vehicle's
finish. There have even been cases where the cigarette butt has entered the engine
or the interior of the car, causing a vehicle fire.
Sources and Additional
Information:
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