Banning smoking in the car...

[ayin jade]

In my area, no cop will enforce litter laws on a smoker. Since smokers dont even see it as litter, and since they are infringing on my rights to a clean lawn without their filthy trash, then I could care less about their "right" to pollute...er smoke.

Since I have no intention of changing anyones mind, I will bow out of this discussion before it turns into something unpleasant.

[Guest LadyC]

the point is, people's legal rights shouldn't be trampled on just because others don't approve. what marnie is trying to point out with these types of posts should be obvious.

everyone here can be accused of doing something that is harmful to their kids. yet who here would support using children as an excuse to strip their rights?

for instance... if you feed your child fast food, you're grossly endangering their lives. what if people could lose their children over that?

how about making it illegal to consume starbucks? or even big-gulps? after all, those contain lots of caffien (a dangerous drug) and enough sugar to kill a horse. do you know the average 12 oz can of soda contains the equivalent of 19 teaspoons of sugar? people who allow their children to drink sodas are endangering their immediate health and mental clarity as well as putting them at extreme risks for diabetes and similar life threatening diseases. besides, i hate seeing coke cans and starbucks cups littering parking lots and roadsides.

let's make fast food drive-thrus illegal... after all, it's distracting to try and eat while driving.

let's make it illegal to have a glass of wine with dinner. after all, if you have alcohol in your home, then a child has access to that same alcohol and could become addicted... and die of chirrosis of the liver.

let's make it illegal to listen to the radio in your car. after all, it makes it difficult to hear emergency vehicle sirens. in fact, some people's radios even make it difficult for people in OTHER cars to hear emergency vehicle sirens!

see where this is going?

if congress wants to strip people of their right to smoke, then make smoking illegal. but if you're not going to make it illegal, than don't tell them they can't smoke in the privacy of their own property. that's totally absurd.

[Scarletprayers]

I'm so glad the government is looking out for us, I mean really!

SP, don't you have enough work to do today? or are you on a smoke break?

Do I know you???

I'm your worst nightmare...........a non-smoking, Yankee, Catholic with an attitude.

Not even close! Your barely a blip on my radar .

Now that we've hijacked this thread....................

I don't mind not smoking in peoples homes, or even in the car with them if they ask me not to. I do however mind the fact that governments are closing in on everything to gain more control. Of course its going to start with something even the most open minded can agree with, "Don't smoke in a car with children", does anybody really think that these curtailments of our rights are just going to stop, after Big Brother cleans up all of our bad habits????

[Guest LadyC]

In my area, no cop will enforce litter laws on a smoker. Since smokers dont even see it as litter, and since they are infringing on my rights to a clean lawn without their filthy trash, then I could care less about their "right" to pollute...er smoke.

Since I have no intention of changing anyones mind, I will bow out of this discussion before it turns into something unpleasant.

that's my point, ayin... cops NEED to enforce litter laws on smokers.

[Fiosh]

the point is, people's legal rights shouldn't be trampled on just because others don't approve. what marnie is trying to point out with these types of posts should be obvious.

everyone here can be accused of doing something that is harmful to their kids. yet who here would support using children as an excuse to strip their rights?

for instance... if you feed your child fast food, you're grossly endangering their lives. what if people could lose their children over that?

how about making it illegal to consume starbucks? or even big-gulps? after all, those contain lots of caffien (a dangerous drug) and enough sugar to kill a horse. do you know the average 12 oz can of soda contains the equivalent of 19 teaspoons of sugar? people who allow their children to drink sodas are endangering their immediate health and mental clarity as well as putting them at extreme risks for diabetes and similar life threatening diseases. besides, i hate seeing coke cans and starbucks cups littering parking lots and roadsides.

let's make fast food drive-thrus illegal... after all, it's distracting to try and eat while driving.

let's make it illegal to have a glass of wine with dinner. after all, if you have alcohol in your home, then a child has access to that same alcohol and could become addicted... and die of chirrosis of the liver.

let's make it illegal to listen to the radio in your car. after all, it makes it difficult to hear emergency vehicle sirens. in fact, some people's radios even make it difficult for people in OTHER cars to hear emergency vehicle sirens!

see where this is going?

if congress wants to strip people of their right to smoke, then make smoking illegal. but if you're not going to make it illegal, than don't tell them they can't smoke in the privacy of their own property. that's totally absurd.

With all due respect, smoking is vastly different in that if I do it, the kids are still directly and definitely effected....as proven by years of research. Second hand smoke kills, plain and simple. Suppose a kid (who has no choice) spends an hour a day in a smoke-filled car. His/her chances of not only cancer, but asthma, emphysema, heart disease, etc go up significantly.

With a "smoker" parent it is daily and certain exposure to a deadly substance. It is not sporadic or potential danger. It is actual, scientifically proven, REAL danger.

The child is at the mercy of the parent.

[DIGITAL DISCIPLE]

I used to smoke and I cannot count how many times a cigarette nearly caused an accident, by either dropping it or by it coming back in my window.

I've heard of cigarettes coming in other cars windows too.

It's truly a safety issue.

You shouldn't talk on cell phones while driving and you shouldn't smoke.

It's not about rights, it's about common sense.

Christians who smoke are doing something wrong by harming their bodies and hurting those around them. Lots of things that we Christians do that are wrong are not illegal.

Cigarettes should not be legal for sale period to be honest and it is child abuse to expose a child to the smoke and I'm just as guilty as any other former smoker.

[Ovedya]

Well you know, I'm not completely "there" with you on the seatbelt laws thing, Butero, but I see where you're coming from. A lot of states have helmet laws for motorcycle riders, but some don't. I can;t think of any state that does not have seatbelt laws. Well, if seatbelt laws are designed to protect drivers from serious injury or death, shouldn't helmets - which are essentially the "seatbelts" of motorcycle operators be just as mandatory. I think it sends conflicting messages.

It's not realistic to see the federal governments or local states banning cigarettes altogether. As you pointed out, there's too much tax money involved. SOme of that tax money goes to schools and social programs too. As a taxpayer you wouldn't want to have to foot those extra millions in revenue if they banned smoking. Then there are the farmers, farm subsidies, local economies, etc. that would all be affected.

What really "chaps my hide" about this whole issue, though, is this: Smoking is the second most destructive cause of preventable death in America. Want to know what number one is? Alcohol!

Alcohol causes more highway deaths, physical ailments from long-term abuse, and more heart problems than smoking. Yet we don't see the huge campaigns out there trying to restrict alcohol usage, do we? We don't see commercials on television organized by huge non-profits against drinking. The best we can hope for is a disclaimer on one of those beer commercials - you know, the ones they run ever 15 minutes during the ball game or during the Olympics? - that says, "Drink responsibly."

Uh...drink responsibly? How about "DON'T DRINK AT ALL"? Well, that's what we hear from the "non-smoking ads" don't we? We hear, "Quit smoking now. Do it for your health. Do it for your kids." Then we hear about the Nicoderm patch and the nicorrette gum, and all the programs to help all those poor smokers to quit and SAVE THEIR LIVES.

But we never - NEVER - see, read, or hear a commercial telling us to, "Stop drinking now. Do it for your health. Do it for your kids." In this society we have a terrible habit for demonizing the minor demon! Instead of attacking the beast that's swallowing us whole we chose to kick the dog that's nipping us at our heels.

It really is disgusting to me.

[Giaour]

Please outlaw cigarettes.

Maybe if I couldn't find any, I'd be able to quit smoking.

Naw, I'd probably just start smoking yard clippings.

Edited February 28, 2006 by Giaour

[Fiosh]

I know smoking is bad for your health, and don't doubt second hand smoke is annoying, but I have never bought into the argument it is as bad as the health officials claim.

Simply Google "second hand smoke" and you'll find more convincing research than you have time to read.

As they say, "Knowledge is power".

[Guest LadyC]

With all due respect, smoking is vastly different in that if I do it, the kids are still directly and definitely effected....as proven by years of research. Second hand smoke kills, plain and simple. Suppose a kid (who has no choice) spends an hour a day in a smoke-filled car. His/her chances of not only cancer, but asthma, emphysema, heart disease, etc go up significantly.

With a "smoker" parent it is daily and certain exposure to a deadly substance. It is not sporadic or potential danger. It is actual, scientifically proven, REAL danger.

The child is at the mercy of the parent.

with all due respect fiosh, you're repeating hyped up media reports that exaggerate the actual studies on second hand smoke. we've been through this before and i won't be drug into that again, but butero is right not to believe all the hype. second hand smoke aggravates existing conditions but has never proven, with any scientifically statistical relevance, that second hand smoke CAUSES a single disease. when you read the research, read the studies themselves, not the reports about the studies. it's the only way you'll find out the truth about the studies, and that goes for ANY kind of research, not just the affects of tobacco.

feeding your kids fast food has, on the other hand, proven without a doubt that it causes obesity and diabetes, ADD and other learning disorders, hyperactivity, etc. etc. EVERYBODY'S children are at the mercy of their parents... not just the children of smokers.

and you don't need research to see the affects of loud music from a car on the public. i can't tell you how many times i've seen or almost been involved in accidents with emergency vehicles because i could not hear them due to the stereo on the car next to me... and i rarely have my own radio above "background noise" level because i am very careful about making sure i can hear what's going on around me.

how do people here feel about parents who have wine in the home? i'd really like to see if everyone is as adamant about the dangers of alcohol as they are about believing second hand smoke "kills" just because it's easy to believe something about a habit that smells bad.