Print this page
Friday, 30 March 2007 02:02

Smoking In Vehicles With Kids Law Moves Forward

Written by 
Rate this item
(0 votes)
slide31Adults who smoke in a vehicle carrying children could be fined $100 under a bill that cleared its first committee Wednesday. A 2006 report by the Harvard School of Public Health said particulate matter in a smoker's car can be as much as 10 times higher than in a smoker's home. That can sharply increase the risk of heart disease, lung cancer and other ailments, Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, told the Senate Health Committee. Oropeza’s bill would make it illegal to smoke a cigar, pipe or cigarette in vehicles carrying a minor, regardless of whether the car is parked or moving. It also creates a public health education program focused on the dangers of second-hand smoke. According to Fox news the committee sent her bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee on a 6-3 vote. Smoking in a car with the windows down isn't enough because the U.S. surgeon general has said there is no safe level for second-hand smoke, American Cancer Society lobbyist Alecia Sanchez testified. "Children are completely captive. There's no refuge for them" in a vehicle, she said.
Read 1060 times Last modified on Friday, 28 August 2009 02:05