Connecticut State Department of Public Health

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  Tobacco Smoke 

in Cars

 		        hand in car window with cigarette 

 Children are most often exposed to secondhand and thirdhand smoke in two places: the home and the car.

 

In Connecticut:

smoking in car with child 
  • 21% of both middle and high school student who have never smoked rode in a car with someone who was smoking within 7 days before the survey.1
  • About 23% of middle school students and 29% of high school students report that smoking is sometimes or always allowed inside the vehicle they drive or ride in the most.2

Smoking in a vehicle quickly causes the concentration of secondhand smoke to reach dangerously high levels and poses serious health risks for children and adults.
 

Studies have found that the concentration of secondhand smoke is greater in vehicles than in any other environment including a smoker’s home and smoke-filled bars, even when the vehicle’s windows are open and the fan is set on high. 4Thirdhand smoke particles settle into the upholstery and other surfaces in the car and then gets kicked back up into the car’s air exposing passengers to toxins even after days or months from the cigarette being put out.5 

How to Protect You and Your Family

 family in car
  • If you smoke try to quit, call the CT Quitline for help
  • Do not allow smoking in your vehicle.
  • Do not allow your children to ride in vehicles that allow smoking.   

  • If smoking has occurred in your vehicle, thoroughly wash and vacuum the upholstery, carpets and other surfaces. This will not eliminate the thirdhand smoke but will decrease the amount.
  

 Concentrations of secondhand smoke in a car:2

No ventilation:

60 times greater  than in a smoke- free home
  • 27 times greater in a smoker’s home

    • Fully ventilated:  

    • 13 times greater than the outdoor concentration 
      

               

     

                                                

    ONE SMOKER EMITS

    50 TIMES MORE FINE PARTICLES

    INTO A CAR THAN THOSE EMITTED

    PER-MILE BY A CAR’S TAILPIPE.6