posted on April 28, 2004 05:57:49 PM new
Calif. Bill Would Ban Smoking in Car with Kids
Wed Apr 28, 2:23 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California could be on its way to becoming the first U.S. state to outlaw smoking in cars or trucks that have children inside.
A bill is being considered in the state Assembly to allow police to stop vehicles if a minor appears to be exposed to smoke from a pipe, cigar, cigarette, or "any other plant."
The bill has the support of the American Lung Association, which points to research showing secondhand smoke can cause cancer, respiratory infections and asthma.
Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, a Democrat and author of the bill, has referred to a survey by state health officials that found 29 percent of youth in the state had been exposed to secondhand smoke in the prior week.
Opponents say the bill, which last week passed in the Transportation Committee and now heads to the Appropriations Committee, not only encroaches on Constitutional freedoms but demonstrates the intentions of some politicians to eventually ban smoking everywhere in California.
"If the ultimate goal is to ban smoking, then have the courage to come up and say that," said Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, a Republican in the Democratic-dominated legislative body.
"Show me good science that shows that secondhand smoke is a problem. I don't know that they've proved that," Mountjoy added.
California in 1995 became the first state in the nation to ban smoking in virtually all workplaces, said Paul Knepprath, the vice president of government relations at the American Lung Association of California.
No other state has instituted a sweeping ban on smoking in cars with children present, Knepprath said.
As much as I am against smoking, even I think this is going too far....
posted on April 28, 2004 06:12:46 PM new
I can remember how, as a kid I used to have to hang my head out of the window when in the car with my mom, even in the winter. She smoked like the city of Los Angeles. The house was just as bad. My clothes stank--I even had the optometrist lean back while examining my eyes one time (I was in about 8th grade then) and saying "you know what smoking can do to your eyesight, don't you?"
I think if this issue had come up when I was a kid, and kids had been allowed to vote, I'd have been first in line at the polling booth
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on April 28, 2004 11:02:35 PM new
I'd support it. Just because you have a kid should not give you the right to poison it.
Friends don't let friends vote Republican!
posted on April 28, 2004 11:57:40 PM new
I would support this ban. Why should kids have to breath second hand smoke? They have no choice in the matter of being in the cars with the parents. It's a confined area, just like an elevator is a confined area.
posted on April 28, 2004 11:57:53 PM new
I know where you stand on this twelve....but I oppose it.
We don't need government getting involved in another part of what parents can and can't do with their children. [BIG BROTHER is watching you]
Those who favor smoking pot....more likely than not smoke it around their children....and it's illegal.
Just being in a car driving down a CA freeway with a window down, a child would inhale more fumes than that. Same thing with people who jog...near heavy traffic.
Some want to regulate, more and more, what families can't and can't do. People have smoked for generations around their children....we're just getting so PC now.
Besides....cops have more important things to do than be pulling over a parent because they're smoking in their OWN car.
posted on April 29, 2004 04:28:42 AM new
Wow, Linda and Twelve, the three of us agree on something at the same time. The kicker is, the people who support this form of government monitoring are the same people who complain when the government takes their freedoms away. I don't think people should smoke with their kids in the car and if they must, the windows should be wide open. However, I don't want our government (a government that has bigger worries, BTW) to tell me what I can do in a vehicle I not only paid for but paid TAXES and license fees on. Now, if they want to pay for my insurance and pay for my license plate renewals each year, I might consider it. Until then, the vehicle is mine, mine, mine.
posted on April 29, 2004 08:21:41 AM new
This is way overboard. As much as I can agree about the kids I would never agree to some lamebrain government to dictate to me on such a personal level.
What I fear the most is what's next? This is the same A-hole California government that refused to allow the border patrol to place another fence due to all the smugglers and illegals piling over. Political correctness my azz.
Never ever trust any of these fools to do what is right because once it starts it will never stop! This should be up to the parents and not the heavy fist of any government. Joe Stalin would have been proud.
posted on April 29, 2004 08:23:36 AM new
Add me to the opposition list. Especially the or "any other plant." part.
I also read where some one was attempting to ban smoking on the beaches of California. (Can't find the link).
"The Secret Service has announced it is doubling its protection for John Kerry. You can understand why — with two positions on every issue, he has twice as many people mad at him." —Jay Leno
posted on April 29, 2004 09:52:13 AM new
bear - There have been several cities that have banned smoking on their beaches. Even one Florida city that banned smoking in front of kids altogether. It's just more and more government control over our lives.
Here's some of the cities that a google search came up with. And I know that Los Gatos, CA has passed a no smoking even outside in the fresh air, in their town too.
posted on April 29, 2004 10:05:26 AM new
You can no longer smoke at our baseball stadium. The kicker is that a sin tax on cigarettes built the stadium. However, you can drink like a fish, disturb those around you and get in your car to drive home. That's considered socially acceptable?
With regard to beach smoking:
I'm a smoker (yes, I've been trying to quit) and when I go to the beach around here Igood 'ol Lake Erie), I have a small foldable ashtry I take with me. I would never throw my cigarette on the beach just as I never throw it on the ground. Even when I smoke outside at work, I put the cigarette out and dispose of it in the garbage. Haphazzardly tossing a cigarette is no better than tossing a can or other garbage into the street.
posted on April 29, 2004 10:14:57 AM new
I agree Cheryl - people who throw cigarette butts anywhere are no better than those who throw out trash. People need to be more considerate of others who share the same public facilities.
But I have problems with business owners being told what they can and can't do about allowing smoking in the OWN places too. One example is bar owners. If they want their bar to allow smokers they should be able to. As should bar owners who don't want any smoking in their place. Let the people decide and the business profits or losses be the deciding factors.....not more government regulations.
posted on April 29, 2004 02:46:46 PM new
It's funny how liberals want to ban cigarettes but legalize marijuana.
Normally I'd oppose cigarette regulations, but smokers piss me off. I have a bus stop in front of my house and the ground around the stop is covered with cigarette butts. I'd support a $10 per pack tax on cigarettes.
"I voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it."
