Back in the day, racers of the Tour de France used to light up a cigarette during the race. It was not unknown for many types of endurance athletes to smoke after a big race, but (for the most part) those days are long gone.
Today most endurance athletes know that smoking and sports don't mix.
However a new British research has gone a step beyond, and perhaps even a step too far, in the battle to stop smoking.
The new U.K. research shows that smoking in a car can exposes drivers and passengers to 23 times more toxins than a smoky bar.
"Smoking in enclosed spaces is especially dangerous," Dr. Jonathan Whiteson, director of the cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation and wellness center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, told CBS News. "Outdoors, smoke gets carried away on the breeze - one puff and it goes away." But in a car, he said, the smoke is recycled.
What's more, he said, toxic residue from cigarette smoke can linger on surfaces even after the air has cleared."
Because of this fact the British Medical Association has called for a ban on smoking in cars in Britain. There is already a ban on smoking in the U.K in public vehicles like buses and trains.
But the call for the ban has many Brits up in arms saying that the government has no place in regulating smoking in such a personal space as a car.
Would banning smoking in cars infringe on individual rights? "That is for the ethicists and lawyers to discuss," Dr. Whiteson said. "But whatever we can do to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking and limit space where people can smoke, the better."
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