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Smoking in Cars

What do you think about smoking in cars?


  • Total voters
    41
Yeah, but we need to balance the overall benefit of the law with the added cost of enforcing it. It might be a wash or negative? And do we really want to have such mundane actions be micromanaged? We have a law in my town that no smoking is allowed within 20ft of a doorway. I've actually seen people come out with tape measures. And what about wind? If I'm 18ft away but there is a strong wind blowing my smoke away from the door, can I argue that in court when I am ticketed? What if I'm fifty feet away but the wind is blowing my smoke towards the door? Can the police still ticket me?

It borders on ludicrous.

Like I said, we handle laws like this all the time. They are only ludicrous if you make up ludicrous examples that don't exist in reality.
 
This is not a public health issue you (impersonal of course ;)) snotty imbecile.

Exposing children to cigarettes smoke in enclosed areas is most definitely a public health issue.
I do not smoke in enclosed spaces with my son or anyone else.

Good! Then you have nothing to worry about. But this isn't just about you or your son, is it? Not every kid is lucky enough to have a dad as smart as you.

You agree that smoking with a kid is harmful and you wouldn't violate this law - so why are you all upset about this?

I just find that your presumption to know the limits of what others may or may not do is anathema to me. I have rarely seen such an abject idiotic argument. Are you for real? Do you have any friends?

I know that exposing kids to smoke harms them. What else is there to know? If others don't do it, great! If they do, we need to stop them. What possible problem could you have with that?
 
car exhaust has CO and other bad fumes. should we ban cars from having their windows open or using the fan to bring in outside air?

think about..the children.

You can play this game all day. Doesn't change anything.

Cost vs. benefit. Look it up. It's a simple concept.
 
Good for you! Unfortunately, some kids have parents stupider than you and must have their health protected from them.

I wish every parent in America would:
  • Smoke outdoors and refrain from smoking in the car when the kids are along for the ride
  • Refrain from using the television as a baby-sitter
  • Refrain from using junk food as a bribe or as a regular meal replacement
  • Make sure their kids get plenty of sunshine, fresh air and exercise
I think the nation as a whole would benefit if these were the practices of parents from coast-to-coast. I do not, however, want to give the government the authority to enforce and regulate these things. If you start involving the government in the elimination unhealthy habits, what's next? High-impact sports? Staying up too late? How far do we want to let the government into our knickers?
 
car exhaust has CO and other bad fumes.

You realize that I can just as easily turn the tables on you, don't you? Watch:

Parents want to pump car exhaust into their kids' bedrooms at night? Why not? After all, we let them feed them sugary cereal and sit around campfires. The government should stay out of their private lives!
 
I have no problem with laws that ban smoking in cars with children in them. I was a child of a smoker (dad) plus another smoker (my grandmother) lived with us most of my childhood. Being in the car with them while they smoked was horrible as a child. And not only would my father and grandmother just try to excuse their smoking as "a bad habit" or "it calms them while they are in the car" but my mother also defended the behavior and would jump on me for even suggesting that neither should smoke around us kids despite not smoking herself.

And enforcing it would be basically the same as enforcing seat belt laws or texting while driving laws. Just pull over the person if you see them doing the activity.

I live in California, which has had this law in place for a while. My husband doesn't smoke in the car with the boys, but didn't even when we lived in NC and HA, where they don't have these laws. Not all smoking parents are like my husband though, and the kids suffer because of the smoking of their inconsiderate parents. Reducing that suffering, even just a little, is a good thing.
 
I wish every parent in America would:
  • Smoke outdoors and refrain from smoking in the car when the kids are along for the ride
  • Refrain from using the television as a baby-sitter
  • Refrain from using junk food as a bribe or as a regular meal replacement
  • Make sure their kids get plenty of sunshine, fresh air and exercise
I think the nation as a whole would benefit if these were the practices of parents from coast-to-coast. I do not, however, want to give the government the authority to enforce and regulate these things. If you start involving the government in the elimination unhealthy habits, what's next? High-impact sports? Staying up too late? How far do we want to let the government into our knickers?

Lame slippery slope argument. Here, let me try it:

What's next? If we stop regulating smoking in cars, will we let parents feed their children sludge? Or pump bleach into their veins?

We can, AND DO, allow parents to do certain things, and disallow them from doing other things. Nobody, including you, thinks that is a bad thing. You don't support total government control of parenthood, nor do I, and you also don't support making child abuse legal.

All I am proposing is moving one, and only one, act from the legal category to the illegal. Everything else is a different issue.
 
Yes, campfires inside cars on a daily basis should also be banned.

Don't play this game, it's stupid.

yes, let's DO play this game
you want to keep the kids absolutely safe, then ban the kids from being in an automobile
each time the child is placed in a moving automobile, they are at some degree of risk
we cannot remove ALL risk
the risk of damage to a child by the occasional exposure to second smoke does not outweigh the imposition of a nanny state
we could prohibit exposing kids to sugars
nitrates in cured meats
prohibit them from basements because of potential radon exposure
eliminate their access to video games because of its potential affects on their developing behavior
compel dry baths to minimize the possibility of a drowning incident
NO swimming by kids. they may not survive

as you can likely tell, this places in the subjective area of what is acceptable and what is extreme. in my never humble opinion, such a prohibition places makes us subject to too much government to prevent too little risky behavior

and let's not even enter into the fray about the enforcement of such absurd provisions
 
Exposing children to cigarettes smoke in enclosed areas is most definitely a public health issue.


Good! Then you have nothing to worry about. But this isn't just about you or your son, is it? Not every kid is lucky enough to have a dad as smart as you.

You agree that smoking with a kid is harmful and you wouldn't violate this law - so why are you all upset about this?



I know that exposing kids to smoke harms them. What else is there to know? If others don't do it, great! If they do, we need to stop them. What possible problem could you have with that?
The problem I have with is that some people think they have the right to dictate to others what is right and what is wrong. My decision was personal. Do not presume to dictate to others what is right and what is wrong. You have neither the moral nor intellectual credentials to do so.
 
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Lame slippery slope argument. Here, let me try it:

What's next? If we stop regulating smoking in cars, will we let parents feed their children sludge? Or pump bleach into their veins?

You can't make this kind of comparison while tobacco is a legal substance which adults consume recreationally. When the government bans human consumption of tobacco, then this comparison will be valid.
 
I have no problem with laws that ban smoking in cars with children in them. I was a child of a smoker (dad) plus another smoker (my grandmother) lived with us most of my childhood. Being in the car with them while they smoked was horrible as a child. And not only would my father and grandmother just try to excuse their smoking as "a bad habit" or "it calms them while they are in the car" but my mother also defended the behavior and would jump on me for even suggesting that neither should smoke around us kids despite not smoking herself.

And enforcing it would be basically the same as enforcing seat belt laws or texting while driving laws. Just pull over the person if you see them doing the activity.

I live in California, which has had this law in place for a while. My husband doesn't smoke in the car with the boys, but didn't even when we lived in NC and HA, where they don't have these laws. Not all smoking parents are like my husband though, and the kids suffer because of the smoking of their inconsiderate parents. Reducing that suffering, even just a little, is a good thing.

what are the negative health effects you reaped because of it?
 
Cigarette smoke is different than car fumes. Secondhand smoke can still cause cancer, over enough time.

My main problem is smoking in a care, with kids, with the windows "up," not down. Having asthma, when my uncle would smoke with the windows up it was like slow suffocation.

So no, I see no problem with having government fine irresponsible parents who do this sort of crap. If the windows are down, that changes things.
 
Earlier today I heard a conversation about Arkansas, and the illegality of smoking in cars with the windows up. According to them, it's illegal to smoke in a car with children that are, iirc, 6 years of age or younger? I don't know which law this is, and have beeb searching for it to find out exactly what the law entails.

I have this link that seems to support the conversation I heard: Law on smoking in car with children could change Arkansas - The Debate Team - BabyCenter

Assuming this is true, I have no problem with the law.

In fact, I'd like to see smoking in cars with the windows up completely banned, because I've heard 2nd/3rd-hand smoke is pretty dangerous.

Would you like to see this law applied for the whole country? What do you think?

Absolutely not for the entire country. But absolutely for my state (no smoking in a car with minors of any age). I believe it should be up to the state to decide.
 
Huh?

My points stand.

I don't care if smokers are getting hammered. They deserve to be. Exposing children to harmful fumes should be illegal.
Huh?, indeed. You quite clearly missed MY point. I was pointing out the obvious flaw in your "logic" toward the other poster, not commenting on the pros and cons of smoking or second-hand smoke itself.
 
when they legalize marijuana will that be illegal to smoke while the windows are up too?
 
when they legalize marijuana will that be illegal to smoke while the windows are up too?

If there's children in the back, then I think so.
 
Cigarette smoke is different than car fumes. Secondhand smoke can still cause cancer, over enough time.

My main problem is smoking in a care, with kids, with the windows "up," not down. Having asthma, when my uncle would smoke with the windows up it was like slow suffocation.

So no, I see no problem with having government fine irresponsible parents who do this sort of crap. If the windows are down, that changes things.
so, you are of the opinion that exposing a child to exhaust fumes can pose no medical problem?
say no or retract your foolish post
 
when they legalize marijuana will that be illegal to smoke while the windows are up too?

The effects of second-hand smoke of marijuana would need to be thoroughly researched before anyone could make an informed decision on your question...
 
The effects of second-hand smoke of marijuana would need to be thoroughly researched before anyone could make an informed decision on your question...

anyone thinking it will be legal to consume marijuana while driving?
 
what are the negative health effects you reaped because of it?

Really? That's your argument. "Show/tell me your problems."

I do have asthma and severe sinus problems but there isn't much of a chance of me proving that those were caused by that second hand smoke exposure as a child. But, as a child, I did suffer having to breathe in that smoke and smelling like their smoke while at school. That is not exactly pleasant for a child and easily preventable with just a little inconvenience to a smoking parent (or other adult around the child).
 
so, you are of the opinion that exposing a child to exhaust fumes can pose no medical problem?
say no or retract your foolish post

I never said car fumes don't pose any medicinal problems.

What, are you saying cigarette fumes and car exhaust are exactly the same?

What were you saying about foolish posts, Bubba?
 
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