[jambutty]

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

Don't you think that the reason more kids today have asthma is down to the fact that their prams are on a level with all these cars? When the Silver Cross prams were the norm kids didn't seem tosuffer with chest problems like they do now, because they were well above the level of exhaust pipes, whereas now they are breathing exhaust fumes in constantly.

Many times in the past on this forum when the subject of smoking was being discussed I put forward the opinion that vehicle exhaust fumes are expelled directly into the faces and lungs of small children and kids in pushchairs.

My view was met with apathetic silence, not just from those drivers who were not inclined to admit their contribution to the increasing incidence of asthma in the young but also from anyone else. So I am pleased to read that someone else has twigged what is happening.

During the fifties and sixties when there was far fewer vehicles on the road than there are today and some 80% of the population enjoyed a fag or two the incidence of asthma in young was hardly noticeable. And don’t forget that most houses still had coal fires. So what’s changed today? Many, many more cars on the road, fewer people smoking, no coal fires and more kids suffering with asthma. It’s not rocket science is it to work out that the evil tobacco has been made a scapegoat? It’s called dividing the community and we all know the saying “divide and conquer”. Whilst we argue amongst ourselves on the smoking issue (plus some others) the government is hell bent on following its own agenda (illegal wars, unwanted Trident replacement to name just two) as well as pushing us further and further into a very limited civil liberties corner.