Scientists still report that passive smoking can be dangerous, especially for children who ride in cars when adults smoke inside them.

Although many smokers leave their windows open when smoking in the car, however, a new study published by the medical journal Tobacco Control reported that even with the windows open smoking in the car can cause dangerous levels of particulate air pollution.

The study focused specifically on the effects of secondhand smoke inside cars. The results overturn the notion that with the windows open there is enough airflow from the outside environment to clear the cabin air of the harmful chemicals of a cigarette.

The University of Aberdeen researchers who carried out the study measured the levels of particulate matter in the seat area behind the front passenger in 14 smoking cars and 3 non-smoking cars. Tests lasted from 5 to 70 minutes, with an average driving time of 27 minutes. Of the 83 journeys made in total, 34 were journeys with non-smoking cars.

After testing, they found that particle levels averaged 7.4 micrograms per cubic meter of air in the non-smoking cars, rising to about 11 times higher during the drive in the smoking cars. Particulate matter levels were strongly associated with number of cigarettes. Average levels were found to be 385 mcg/m3, while the highest recorded level was 880 mcg/m3.

The researchers found that although smokers typically opened car windows to provide ventilation when smoking, particulate levels were still higher than the limit considered safe by the World Health Organization (25 mcg/m3).

So it became easily clear that smoking in the car when there are children is quite dangerous for their health, as well as for the health of any passenger in the car. Cigarette smoke affects the smoker more, but it has the same negative effect on those who accept passive smoking. Although many try to reduce the risk by providing ventilation, rolling down the windows or running the air conditioner, these measures are not enough to keep the air quality in the car at a safe level.

This results in children’s exposure to secondhand smoke putting them at risk for serious health problems. According to the Center for Disease Control (US), there are more than 7,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, hundreds of which are toxic and 70 known to cause cancer. These dangerous chemicals are not only inhaled by the smoker, but also by people who are forced into secondhand smoke. While some may think that the issue of secondhand smoke, particularly in the car, is a small issue, secondhand smoke affects millions of people.

From 2007 to 2008, over 88 million non-smokers in the United States were exposed to secondhand smoke. Of these total, 53.6% concerned children up to 11 years old.