ON the day smoking in cars when children are present became illegal, "shocking" new figures show the harm secondhand smoke poses to youngsters - even with the windows down.
The new law which protects children from the effects of tobacco smoke will see the driver and any smoker fined £50 if they have someone under 18 in the car too.
And Dr Anil Namdeo, of Newcastle University's Transport Operations Research Group, has carried out experiments on secondhand smoke in vehicles to test levels of dangerous chemicals - fine particles 100 times thinner than a human hair known as PM2.5 - which children sitting in the back of a car would breathe in.
His team tested having the windows open or closed, fans on or off and with the air recirculating or not.
For the full story, click here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here