| Subject: What next, no farting in cars with children in them |
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Date Posted: 12:27:45 02/22/07 Thu
New Calif. Bill Could Make Smoking In Cars Illegal
POSTED: 8:42 am PST February 22, 2007
UPDATED: 8:49 am PST February 22, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Californians cannot smoke in restaurants, government buildings or near playgrounds. Now a California lawmaker wants to move the ban to automobiles, according NBC4 San Francisco.
"I grew up with cigarette smoke all around me," said Amy Yale, who is now a nonsmoker.
She supports the proposed law making it illegal for adults to smoke in cars carrying children.
"First of all, I think it's a danger to be smoking while you're driving, and of course, with children in an enclosed space. I think all the inhaling of the smoke is pretty bad for their health," Yale said.
Her 13-year-old daughter Savahna can't stand riding in cars with smokers.
"Disgusting and smells bad," Savahna Yale said.
If the bill, proposed by state Senator Jenny Oropeza, passes and a driver is caught smoking with kids in the car, they face a $100 fine.
According to Oropeza's Web site, Senate Bill 7 would apply to any car with a child younger than the age of 18 in it, even if the car was parked and on private property.
The measure includes putting notice of the ban in the California Driver's Handbook.
Critics argue the government is going too far and squashing smokers' freedom to light up where they want.
Margo Leathers Sidener of BREATHE California said it's important to protect kids.
"Secondhand smoke is a toxic hazard and it was declared so recently by the California Air Resources Board. We also know that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke and that the vulnerable population are minors," she said.
A Senate committee will review the proposed law in March.
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