Drivers might be going smokeless if there are kids in the car
6:13 p.m. Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Start up the engine, and light up a smoke. It's a habit Kansans may have to kick if they've got little ones in the car.
"The kids are having to inhale toxins that some adult is spewing out and they can't get away from it. It's trapping them in a vehicle in a confined area, having to breathe in second hand smoke," Senator David Haley, D-Kansas City said.
Lawmakers are working on a bill that would ban smoking in most public places across the state, and they've just added a private place to that list: your vehicle. And some drivers and smokers we spoke to, like Topeka resident Dwayne Jackson, were not pleased.
"This is me. This is my space. I pay for this. No one else pays for this," Jackson said, pointing towards his car.
Proposed Smoking Ban
It could soon be lights out for smokers across Kansas. Lawmakers are working on a bill that would ban smoking in most public places, including restaurants. The law would also apply to bars, except for "cigar-tobacco bars," where only drinks and tobacco products are sold. Nursing homes would also be exempt. A complete text of the proposed legislation is available at Senate Bill 37.
Do you think smoking should be banned? You are invited to take part in our 49 News Poll.
The law would ban Kansans from lighting up inside a vehicle with anyone under 18 years of age. And breaking that law would mean paying a fine.
"Tickets? I don't know, that's a little steep, you know?" Topeka resident Randy Brubaker said.
Brubaker says he knows second hand smoke is dangerous, but he thinks there's probably a better solution.
"Give warnings. Talk to parents. Give them more education on it, before you go jumping on tickets," Brubaker said.
As for Jackson, he says the decision to smoke, or not to smoke, should be up to mom and dad and not "big brother".
"I feel it's a parental thing. My father smoked all my life in the car with me. I'm still alive. And I'm 45, ya know?" Jackson said.
If the law passes as-is, smoking with a minor in the car would be a misdemeanor.
Lawmakers still have to decide whether it would be a primary offense, something you could actually get pulled over for, ora secondary offense, which would mean you could only be fined if you were pulled over for something else.
Comments
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Jan. 24, 2007 at 7:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)Linda (anonymous)
Yes smoking in the presence of kids is bad and you SHOULD NOT do this in their presence.
HOWEVER.....it's pretty scary when every year they think of something else to create a regulation for.
What is next: Toilet paper police? Tickets for cooking with too much trans fats or allowing your child to eat 2 candy bars instead of 1? Fines started from People Against Anything That We Don't Like?
They've already banned the game Tag in a couple of places because it's a potential violent threat to the children. I'm just wondering when they will pass a law to require safety helmets for all children when they are in a vehicle or on a playground, not to mention knee pads and Kevlar gloves. Children should not be in a household with dogs because they may bite them.
To give someone a ticket for smoking in their vehicle is outrageous. However, if the vehicle has to be stopped for another violation (speeding, etc.) and the officer spots a fat child without a helmet, kneepads and gloves, eating a McDonald's cheeseburger, 2 candy wrappers found on the floorboard, and the driver is emitting an odor of trans fat gas in an enclosed car, I say, SEND THAT TERRIBLE PARENT TO THE SLAMMER!!!
Jan. 24, 2007 at 9:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)kmiles (Keith Miles)
It's a stepping stone to population control. If thet ban one thing in a private place, the next stop is in our homes. Next they are going to say we can't smoke in our own home. I agree with Linda, this is going way too far!
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