Give a voice to the back seat:  Don’t Smoke in Cars with Kids!

Research shows that when someone is smoking in a car, the air quality decreases substantially. 

Smoking is banned in all vehicles, moving or parked, when youth are present.

Follow the law – don’t smoke in cars with kids!

• Smokers can be fined up to $100 for smoking in vehicles when youth are present.
• Children who breathe secondhand smoke on a regular basis are at a higher risk for middle ear infections.
• Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause asthma in children who have never previously shown any symptoms.
• Babies and children younger than age 6 who are exposed to secondhand smoke regularly are more likely to get respiratory track infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis.
• Secondhand smoke levels in motor vehicles can be up to 27 times greater than in a smoker’s home!

Children exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to become smokers themselves. Keep your kids healthy and follow the law – don’t light up when you’re driving with kids in a car.

Learn how bad smoking in a car really is….. Click here.

Pregnant? 
If you smoke while pregnant, your baby smokes too – and the effects are harmful. Smoking robs your baby of oxygen. Poisons pass through the placenta.  Smoking – or being exposed to secondhand smoke – while pregnant can increase the chances of a miscarriage or having a baby with low birth-weight.

Ready to Quit?  Help is available!

Call Mono County Health Promotions for information on smoking cessation resources, including a free Quit Smoking Kit - 760/924-1830.

Or, stop by one of the following Mono County businesses to pick up a Quit Smoking Kit:
• Java Joint (Mammoth Lakes)
• Trout Town Joe (June Lake)
• Nicely’s Restaurant (Lee Vining)
• Benton Public Library
• A J’s Market (Chalfant)
• Bridgeport Health Clinic or Social Services
• Wellness Center (Walker)
• Marine Mountain Warfare Training Center – Base Housing (Coleville)
• Walker Senior Center or Social Services

Smoke Free Zones:  Because we care about kids!
Children are especially susceptible to secondhand smoke.  Components of second- hand smoke can settle or be absorbed:    
> into carpets, walls, and furnishings, and
> can be re-emitted weeks or even months later.

Susceptible populations, especially young children may absorb nicotine by inhalation, ingestion or skin contact.  [Cancer Epidemiology and Biomarkers Prevention December 2009]

For more information, please contact Nancy Mahannah, Mono County Health Promotion Division Manager, 760/924-4621, or nmahannah@mono.ca.gov.

Other resources:

California Smokers’ Helpline
Tobacco Free California
Tobacco Free Kids
American Lung Association of California