Do you or someone you know smoke? Do you want to find out how smoking in the home can damage your health? Air quality monitors are now available through the Health Promotion Department as part of a drive towards smokefree homes and cars. They show how smoke moves throughout the home and can linger for up to five hours.
Data is collected during monitoring and once the devices are returned to Health Promotion staff the figures can be downloaded to produce a graph showing smoke peaks and troughs and where it doesn’t disperse so quickly.
Local Stop-Smoking Co-ordinator Gillian Bruce explained: “Unfortunately cigarette smoke does not always drift the way we would like it to drift, and the majority of smoke is odourless and colourless. It’s all very well standing at the front door or opening the kitchen window to smoke, thinking you are minimising the risk, but using the air quality monitor can show people exactly how the smoke moves within their house.”
In December 2016 a ban was introduced in Scotland on smoking in cars carrying children. The new legislation means fines of up to £100 for anyone who smokes in a car which has a passenger under the age of 18.
Public Health Practitioner Davy Cairns said: “The smoking ban in cars carrying children will help protect them from conditions linked to second hand smoke such as bronchiolitis, pneumonia and asthma.”
Air quality monitors can be obtained from Health Promotion on 01786 433293.
