I was on TalkRadio earlier today.
I was invited to discuss with presenter Trisha Goddard a story that appeared over a week ago and attracted the following headlines:
- Ban on smoking in cars with kids has ‘significant’ impact on asthma, study shows (Press & Journal), and
- Car smoke ban kept toddlers out of A&E (The Times)
Given the number of studies whose results rarely justify the headlines they generate I was naturally a little sceptical.
Nevertheless I read the study in full and, lo and behold, here are some points that may have been overlooked:
In Scotland admissions for asthma among preschool children fell significantly over the 2 years after the introduction of smoke-free vehicles but [my emphasis] there was no benefit among the overall group or for children aged 5-15 years.
Specifically:
There was a non-significant decline [my emphasis] in monthly emergency admissions to hospitals for asthma among children younger than 16 years relative to underlying trend in hospital admissions for childhood asthma.'
Nor was there a decline in hospital admissions for any other respiratory illnesses.
The one age group that, according to the study, did have a 'significant decline in monthly admissions for asthma over and above the underlying trend among children in this age group' was children younger than five.
But – and this is important – even the authors admit that it was only a “small effect”.
To put a number on it, in the under five age group there were just SIX fewer hospitalisations per year for acute asthma attacks in the two years after the introduction of the ban on cars carrying children in Scotland.
Despite this the study authors insist that this represents a significant fall in hospital admissions in the under five age group. Furthermore the implication is that it must be associated with the smoke-free vehicle legislation even though they admit that:
As with any observational study, the finding of an association does not prove causation.
We always said that banning smoking in cars carrying children was like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut for the simple reason that when the issue raised its head there was no evidence that a significant number of adults were still smoking in their cars with children present.
"The regulations are patronising and unnecessary. Very few adults smoke in cars with children. Smokers know it's inconsiderate and the overwhelming majority don't do it."
As for exposure to secondhand smoke, even the authors of the Glasgow University study admit that:
No studies have directly compared exposure of children to second-hand smoke in vehicles before and after the Scottish legislation.
Of course not, and we know why, don’t we?
A study that looked at children's exposure to second-hand smoke in vehicles before the legislation was introduced would have struggled to find evidence.
In fact the only study that I’m aware of, carried out by UCD in Dublin in 2013, was reported as follows: ‘Ban on smoking in cars would have little impact, says study’.
Ironically the Glasgow study was only mentioned by Trisah Goddard towards the end of today's TalkRadio interview so I didn't get a chance to point any of this out.
To be fair though she struck me as someone who was prepared to have a balanced and thoughtful conversation on the subject.
It was just a pity we didn’t have more time. Unfortunately news bulletins wait for no-one.
