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DelMarVa Survival Trainings
Daily Features |
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October 11, 2007
California bans smoking in cars
with kids
By STEVE LAWRENCE
California
motorists will risk fines of up to
$100 next year if they are caught
smoking in cars with minors, making
their state the third to protect
children in vehicles from secondhand
smoke.
Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger on Wednesday signed a
bill that will make it an infraction
to smoke in a vehicle if someone
under age 18 is present. But the
traffic stop would have to be made
for another offense, such as
speeding or an illegal turn, before
the driver could be cited for
smoking.
The ban,
which takes effect Jan. 1, joins a
string of smoking prohibitions
adopted in California, including a
ban on smoking in enclosed
workplaces and within 25 feet of a
playground.
A Harvard
School of Public Health report
issued last year said secondhand
smoke in cars can be up to 10 times
more of a health risk than
secondhand smoke in a home.
"Protecting
the health of our children is among
government's highest
responsibilities," said the bill's
author, state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, a
Democrat. "It is clear that
increasing public awareness about
the dangers of secondhand smoke is
the right thing to do."
At least 20
states and a number of
municipalities have considered
limiting smoking in cars where
minors are present. Arkansas now
bans smoking in cars with children
age 6 and younger, while Louisiana
has limited it when children 13 and
younger are in the vehicle. Maine
lawmakers will take up the issue in
January.
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