New Year’s Resolutions Blog

Think You Can Smoke in Your Car?

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

It depends where you are and who you are with! Starting January 19, Bangor, Maine puts a new ordinance into effect. The police can stop you if you are smoking in your car with a child (under age 18) present. You can be fined $50.
I have to admit that I did this years ago, before we knew so much about second hand smoke and the harmful effects to children. I’m guessing there are still a lot of people smoking with kids around and I’m thinking this ban may help some who are working on their resolution to stop entirely.

I’m not really sure how I feel about this though. It certainly has stirred up a fuss in Bangor! Some see it as a violation of their right to privacy. It does seem to me like the state is stepping on its citizens rights, and that a lot of stepping is directed at smokers. Maine will soon raise the tax on cigarettes to $3.00 a pack, making it the highest in the nation. I’m all for making it easier for people to quit, but this seems like it is forcing them to quit.

Bangor is believed to be the first city to outlaw smoking in cars with children. But Arkansas, Louisiana and Puerto Rico recently enacted similar bans, and at least three other states are considering them: California, Connecticut and Maine, where proponents hope the Bangor ban will be a catalyst for a state law.

At least seven states, including several with large numbers of smokers like Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska, prohibit or sharply restrict smoking around foster children in homes, cars or both. Some require homes or cars to be smoke-free for 12 hours before a foster child enters.

Judges determining parental custody and visitation have, in more than a dozen states, ordered a parent not to smoke around a child. An Ohio court last year gave custody of a 6-year-old boy to his father solely because the boy’s mother and her fiancé smoked. If that isn’t motivation enough to stop smoking, then what is?

There are all kinds of new bans in the works now, including tenants and landlords, where the landlord can be held accountable for allowing tenants to be exposed to second hand smoke.

With most of the wave of smoking bans being so new, early enforcement has generally involved warnings, a tactic Bangor will start with, along with a radio campaign. Proponents hope the mere existence of such laws causes people to curb smoking.

Some people are talking about boycotting the city. Bangor is the third largest city in Maine and a major shopping area.

I think the lamest excuse I’ve heard so far is smokers might have withdrawal symptoms while driving and cause accidents.

I read one reaction from a woman who said, “We have so many people telling us what we can and cannot do in our own lives. Are we going to come back and say, ‘If you don’t get your child out there once a week to exercise …’ ”

Well, love it or hate it, it certainly is to the benefit of our kids.