Parents who smoke in cars in front of small children are “committing a form of child abuse”, a leading GP has said. Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, has condemned society's attitudes to food, alcohol and cigarettes. In a letter to the Observer newspaper, he said parents had to take more responsibility for their children's health – and set a good example. He said irresponsible behaviour led to high levels of disease and early death. He called on parents, mothers-to-be, the obese, smokers and drinkers to turn into healthy role models for their children. Professor Field, who represents 42,000 GPs across the UK, added: “I suppose the same people also smoke at home in front of their children. Evidence from the US indicates that more young children are killed by parental smoking than by all other unintentional injuries combined.” Other health experts have previously called for smoking to be banned in cars when children are present, but the government's recent decision not to review existing smoking legislation means that move is unlikely. In his letter, Professor Field says adults need to take responsibility for their own health too. He added: “The truth, which may be unpalatable to some, is that too many of us, too often, neglect too many aspects of our own personal health behaviour, and this is leading to increasing levels of ill-health and early death. “Public health is a sensitive subject. “It's not easy to strike the right balance between protecting people's sensibilities and delivering the hard facts about their personal behaviours that are ultimately shortening their lives. “Too many people do not face up to the hard facts, as they perceive them to be an attack aimed, in particular, at the poorer members of our society, when it is impossible to argue on medical or ethical grounds, that such behaviour is acceptable.” And he said they should ensure they were “healthy role models” so that children learnt to eat well, exercise and look after their own health. added by: Omnomynous
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