Alright, this is a little too much from me... (Smoking ban with kids in car)

[ken0042]

I guess for me I look at it this way; we already have many law on the books to keep us from doing stupid things. And for many years we have known that 2nd hand smoke was bad; and is even worse for lungs that are still growing. But I know of people that still smoke in the car with kids around; heck even the OP admitted to it.

As for the fried food example; the flaw there lies in the fact that cigarette smoke is bad no matter what, but fried food does have nutritional value, and in moderation can even be part of a healthy diet. ("Timmy, if you eat your veggies tonight I will make french fries for lunch tomorrow.")

As was mentioned the big issue here is awareness. What better way to increase awareness than to make it illegal? And what better way to give the 9 year old a way to bring it up to his parents. "Hey dad, I didn't think you were allowed to smoke in the car- the policeman told me so" comes across much better than "Dad- in health class they said you shouldn't be smoking around me."

[FlamesAddiction]

I'm all for it.

I grew up in a smoking home and then started smoking myself (quit around 5 years ago). I remember being a kid in the car and having trouble breathing. I also remember being short of breath and getting chest pains.

Smoking in cars is child abuse by neglegence as far as I am concerned. It is no different than willingly exposing them to any carcinogen that can easily be avoided.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by troutman

If people won't protect their children from second-hand smoke, then society must protect the children. The rights of the child supercedes all.

This is exactly right.

As a child, I was subjected to 6-hour drives to our "other" house in BC every weekend. Literally every weekend, as in we would leave Calgary at 5:00PM on Friday and arrive back in Calgary at 10:00PM on Sunday. Every single weekend.

My step-mother was (is) a chain-smoker. Every 15 minutes, she's got another cigarette in her fingers. My father is ex-military, so I was positioned directly behind my step-mother - so that my father could "keep an eye on me." They both despised having the windows rolled down, so the air conditioning was on in full force... blowing everything directly into the backseat.

Long story short, as a 7-year-old child, I was inhaling a constant stream of second-hand smoke for 6 continuous hours every Friday and 6 more continuous hours every Sunday.

Anyone ever see a "smoking room" in a public place? You know, the little room with the yellow-stained windows and the undead-looking people crouched over inside them that you can barely see through the thick, revolting smog hanging in the air. That's what our car was like, and I spent 12 hours in it every single weekend from the age of 6 to the age of 15. That's 9 friggin years.

I then went on to smoke a pack-and-a-half a day, for 15 years of my life, before finally quitting 3 years ago.

You know how happy I would have been to have this law in place when I was a child? I'm not a violent guy, but every time I see some jackass smoking in their car with their kid(s) in the backseat, I want to pull them over and smack the stuffing out of them.

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Smoking in cars is child abuse by neglegence as far as I am concerned. It is no different than willingly exposing them to any carcinogen that can easily be avoided.

I agree, and I think that there are current laws that should be expanded to interpret poisoning your children with smoking.

[Flashpoint]

I'm all for it. Smoking isn't about personal rights, it's about causing harm to others. It's banned in bars because the employees could sue the WCB for work related medical problems. Easier to legislate it out, than to deal with lawsuits.

When its children, they don't have the option of driving themselves, or walking, or whatnot. If you're over 16, it's up to you. Kids under that age need to be protected from their tarbar fiend drivers.

Finally society has recognized that smoking is problematic for far more people than just the smoker. It's an addiction, and that deserves some recognition, but it's the public at large that is the real victim of smoking.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by J pold

What about when doctors say it? Do they know what’s better for you than you?

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/303881

Ontario's doctors are stepping up efforts to force a provincial ban on smoking in cars with children on board.

Citing a California study that showed second-hand smoke in cars could reach levels more than twice those previously suspected, the Ontario Medical Association says subjecting kids to such toxic fumes is no longer acceptable.

Doctors also say eating fast food is bad for you.

last time I checked the government wasn't banning McDonalds or Peter's Drive In from operating.

[SaskaBushFire]

This isn't far enough, I am a radical on this topic, make tabacco illegal!

All it does is kill people!

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Azure

Doctors also say eating fast food is bad for you.

last time I checked the government wasn't banning McDonalds or Peter's Drive In from operating.

You're right. It's not illegal to eat a Big Mac.

I bet you'd get in a lot of trouble if you were caught pouring bucket-fulls of fat and grease into you child's stomach, though.

[SaskaBushFire]

Originally Posted by Azure

Doctors also say eating fast food is bad for you.

last time I checked the government wasn't banning McDonalds or Peter's Drive In from operating.

The difference here is that you eating McD's beside me isn't going to affect my health. You having a smoke beside me, and my kids breathing in those toxic fumes? Little different.

"But buses and cars make toxic fumes!!WAHHH!!!"

True, but how many people die from car fumes compared to second hand smoke per year? Not counting suicides, in both topics.

[Flashpoint]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

You're right. It's not illegal to eat a Big Mac.

I bet you'd get in a lot of trouble if you were caught pouring bucket-fulls of fat and grease into you child's stomach, though.

Yeah, you'd also get in a lot of trouble if you were handing your kid smokes every day too.

Apples and oranges. Sitting in a car while someone eats Mcpukes doesn't affect the other people there.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

Yeah, you'd also get in a lot of trouble if you were handing your kid smokes every day too.

Apples and oranges. Sitting in a car while someone eats Mcpukes doesn't affect the other people there.

That was my point.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Totally for it...you don't have the right to KNOWINGLY poison your kids...nuff said

Nanny state my *ss

[psicodude]

IMO, the governments main job is to protect those that are unable to protect themselves. This is a perfect example of that. Dream up all of the stupid Big Mac comparisons you want, the bottom line is that children in the back seat have absolutely no say over what their parents do, and whether the parents like it or not, their smoking IS hurting the child.

Add me to the "all for it" column.

[Russic]

hmmm, good points in here. After careful deliberation I've determined that to be against this law I would be a little hypocritical. I'm now for it and officially retract all statements made otherwise.

Yes, I'm a flip-flopper.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

You're right. It's not illegal to eat a Big Mac.

I bet you'd get in a lot of trouble if you were caught pouring bucket-fulls of fat and grease into you child's stomach, though.

Fried food in moderation is not bad, and can actually be beneficial.

You are right though... if you fed your kid nothing but crap and your kid becomes sick and malnurished, then there are laws against that - and you would likely have your kids taken away.

[Ayrahb]

I think those parents should be dealt with under the existing provincial child protection laws. They probably wouldn't even need new legislation for that.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

Yeah, you'd also get in a lot of trouble if you were handing your kid smokes every day too.

Apples and oranges. Sitting in a car while someone eats Mcpukes doesn't affect the other people there.

But when I have to look at a severely obese person who eats like a pig at McDonald's, how do you think it makes me feel?

[Russic]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Fried food in moderation is not bad, and can actually be beneficial.

You are right though... if you fed your kid nothing but crap and your kid becomes sick and malnurished, then there are laws against that - and you would likely have your kids taken away.

But not if it went the other way. If you fed your kids to the point that they became obese and attained diabetes there would be no problems.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Fried food in moderation is not bad, and can actually be beneficial.

You are right though... if you fed your kid nothing but crap and your kid becomes sick and malnurished, then there are laws against that - and you would likely have your kids taken away.

In the extreme case yes. But what if you only fed your kid enough unhealthy things that they were only moderately overweight, but the stage was set for a lifetime of poor eating choices. Is this not a similar arguement that parents who smoked pass on smoking habits to their children?

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

In the extreme case yes. But what if you only fed your kid enough unhealthy things that they were only moderately overweight, but the stage was set for a lifetime of poor eating choices. Is this not a similar arguement that parents who smoked pass on smoking habits to their children?

Obviously not, because that doesn't affect the people around the fat kid. I mean, it is clearly a bigger issue because second hand smoke affects everyone, and fat people only affect themselves...

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