The Conversation – Emily Lowthian and Simon C. Moore
We all know that the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs harms our own health. But many people are not aware that their use of these substances can sometimes also affect the health and well-being of others – including their own children. Take secondhand smoking for example. Its effect on child well-being is so well evidenced that smoking in cars with under 18s was banned in Wales in 2015. For good reason, too – the NHS estimates that every year 300,000 GP visits and 9,500 hospital admissions in the UK are due to children’s exposure to others’ tobacco smoke.