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EDITORIAL: Smoking In Cars With Kids? Can't Outlaw Stupidity
Feb 22, 2013 (The Hartford Courant - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Should adults be allowed to smoke in a car carrying young children No, said many of those who spoke at a state Capitol hearing recently on a bill that would make it a crime.
Not all stupid behavior can be outlawed, however. Adults who expose children to secondhand smoke are ignorant and irresponsible, but whether they should also be criminals is doubtful.
Breathing secondhand smoke is a hazard to anyone, but children are particularly at risk because their bodies are still developing. Asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis and middle-ear infections are just some of the conditions linked to children's inhaling smoke.
Yes, the space inside cars is confined, but children of smokers likely spend more time exposed to secondhand smoke at home than in vehicles. Should it also be illegal for people to smoke in homes where there are children That would be an unacceptable restriction on personal liberty.
Under the proposed bill, police would not pull over a car simply because of smoking; they would ticket only those smokers who had been stopped for other apparent violations.
Some who testified noted that under current law, drivers are prohibited from drinking, using hand-held phones and texting -- so why not smoking, too One answer is that smoking tobacco is not the same type of driving hazard as those activities.
It isn't illegal for passengers to text or make phone calls, and being drunk in a car is not a violation as long as one is not behind the wheel; that's why there are designated drivers. Yet under this proposed bill, smoking passengers would also be culpable.
Should people smoke around kids -- in a car, or anywhere In fact, should they smoke at all Any sensible person would say no.
Unfortunately, you can't always legislate common sense. The General Assembly has much important work before it this session; after thanking those who want to protect children, legislators should move on.
___ (c)2013 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) Visit The Hartford Courant
(Hartford, Conn.) at www.courant.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
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