Hundreds of families showed support for Fresh Start Wales when the campaign visited locations across the country on its Communities First tour.
The Welsh Government initiative visited 27 Communities First locations throughout March to encourage families to keep their cars smoke-free and protect their children from second-hand smoke.
More than 170 smokers and non-smokers tested their carbon monoxide levels and more than 1,200 people took home information to make the first steps towards making their cars smoke-free.
As part of the tour Fresh Start Wales teamed up with Communities First at events to share information about smoking in cars with families in the most deprived communities in Wales. Results from the Welsh Health survey 2012 indicate that over a quarter of non-smokers (26%) living in the most deprived communities in Wales are exposed to second hand smoke indoors compared to those living in more affluent areas (14%).
Fresh Start Wales also visited shoppers at ASDA stores across the country with a super-sized Health and Wealth Wheel for smokers to estimate how much money they could save by quitting – money which could be spent on their weekly grocery shop.
For the first time Patch the Dragon and the Fresh Start team visited schools to deliver special lessons on the harmful substances found in cigarettes and to teach children about the damaging effects breathing in second-hand smoke can have on the body.
Employers were asked to support their staff and their families by raising awareness of the dangers of smoking in cars with information provided by Fresh Start Wales.
Recent research by the Welsh Government showed 78% of people reporting that smoking was not allowed in their main car. Findings also show that around 90% of respondents agreed that second-hand smoke can harm health and that parents should not smoke in their cars.
Smoking in your car may leave children at risk of developing severe health problems such as asthma, chest problems, ear infections and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Recent research indicates that 300,000 children in the UK visit a GP each year because of the effects of second-hand smoke, with 9,500 going to hospital.
More than 80% of cigarette smoke is invisible and doesn’t have a smell, so parents who smoke in their cars can be exposing their children to harm without realising it. It can linger in the atmosphere for up to two hours after a cigarette is extinguished, and is absorbed into the seat lining and carpets of family cars. So there is never a safe time to smoke in cars.
For more information, or to sign the online pledge map, go to or freshstartwales.co.uk