Smoking near kids is "child abuse"

Did anyone see the letter in the Observer saying that smoking in a car or at home with children is a "form of child abuse"? Obviously it's not recommended for parents to do this, but surely social workers have better things to do with their time??

I did not see this article, but I agree with you. It is not really a child protection/ abuse issue, but perhaps certain parents who do smoke alot around thier children could be sent on a parenting/smoknig awareness course....possibly refered by the GP.

We will have to see where this leads....

depends on the individual case- I have cited this as an issue in the context of other factors-like a child prone to bronchial infections or chronic asthma. These can become life threatening, so if it's not CP in those cases I don't know what is. It can sometimes demonstrate a more general neglect-but not always.