Smoking in cars 'no more toxic' than other indoor environments
No evidence to support claim smoking in cars is 23 times more toxic than other indoor environments, study says
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Tuesday, 13, Apr 2010 08:30
By Ciara Trudeau.
There is no evidence to support the claim that smoking in cars is 23 times more toxic than in other indoor environments, according to a report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Dr Ross MacKenzie and Becky Freeman, researchers from the University of Sydney, have criticised the "unsubstantiated" 23 times more toxic figure and plotted the figure's path through both the mainstream press and scientific publications before become widely accepted as "fact".
Dr Ross MacKenzie said: "There is no evidence to support the fact that smoking in cars is 23 times more toxic than in other indoor environments."
The report shows the root of the myth was a 1997 press release by advocates of tobacco control. The press release cited a 1992 study of tobacco which referred to potentially cancer-causing nitrosamines in indoor air, but did not specifically claim that smoking in cars is 23 times more toxic than other indoor smoking. The 23 per cent claim gained a wide audience when American senator Dorothy Rupert "cited" the report and an American newspaper published her statements.
Since then, this figure has been widely circulated and is now cited as evidence of the danger of exposure to second-hand smoke in cars. It has also been used to substantiate legislation to impose fines on adults caught smoking in cars with children present.
"Successful advocacy campaigns often require the translation of complex research findings into short and memorable media quotes. Managing the risks involved in either oversimplifying research results or misreporting findings is essential to maintaining the credibility of public health professionals. Unfortunately, inaccurate reporting of health information is not an uncommon phenomenon," the report states.
Organisations should stop using the 23 times more toxic "fact" given the lack of scientific evidence, the report concludes. "Instead, advocating of smoking bans in cars should simply state that exposure to second-hand smoke in cars poses a significant health risk and that vulnerable children who cannot remove themselves from this smoky environment must be protected."
The report also suggests that anyone involved in disseminating scientific information should cite only original sources.
"The biggest danger of inaccurately interpreting research of smoking in cars for the sake of a snappy media sound bite is to lose favour with an overwhelmingly supportive public and to provide ammunition for opponents of tobacco control."