Viewpoints
Second Hand Smoke in Cars
By Rob Holston
February 08, 2007
Thursday
This letter is condensed from "Vehicular Homicide",
a column published in SitNews on Nov. 21, 2006.
It is time to enact a law that prohibits smoking in any vehicle
where children are present.
Red-necked smokers will clamor to their soap boxes, expounding
upon their rights to smoke in their own vehicles but I pray lawmakers
decide in favor of our children. Violators of this statute should
pay a fine, equal to the amount they probably spend on their
precious smokes each year. That would be, in round figures about
$2,000. A smoking couple could spend $80,000 over the course
of 20 years raising a couple of kids. That's the second way
that smokers victimize their children, by depleting the family
budget for their own nicotine-enhanced pleasures.
If you remain unconvinced, please "google" SECOND HAND
SMOKE and print several reports on how second hand smoke effects
children.
Recently, Alaska Attorney General, David Marquez was part of
a formal plea to the motion picture industry to include non-smoking
messages with their productions. Marquez thanked the Weinstein
Company as the first company "....taking responsibility
for protecting our children from the danges of smoking."
I'm sure we can count on him and his office for supporting this
legislation to protect Alaska's children from the scourge of
second hand smoke in vehicles.
Any child in a vehicle, windows up or down, is a victim to second
hand smoke when there is a smoker in the vehicle and this form
of child abuse needs to be stopped. It is time that this state
step up to the plate and pass the legislation necessary to protect
our state's children from the harm of second hand vehicular smoke.
It is the state's responsibility to protect those who cannot
protect themselves. Children in these circumstances need help
and they need it now. Please support legislation to combat second
hand vehicular smoke effecting children.
Rob Holston
Ketchikan, AK
Received February 08, 2007 - Published February 08, 2006
About: Retired school teacher,
owner of a non-smoking business & a freelance writer of a
health column published on SitNews.
Related Column:
Vehicular Homicide By Rob Holston - he state of Alaska
issues drivers licenses to those who qualify to drive on state
road systems. The state of Alaska issues licenses for vehicles
to be driven upon the road systems of Alaska. Our state has enacted
laws to protect people from each other in the form of traffic
laws, of course, but also in "click-it-or-ticket" laws
and child restraint laws. It is now time for our state to enact
a law to protect all children within vehicles upon public and
private properties within the borders of our state from the toxins
of second hand smoke. It is time to enact a law that prohibits
smoking in any vehicle where there are children present and recognizing
such practice as a form of child abuse. - More...
Tuesday - November 21, 2006
Note: Comments published
on Viewpoints are the opinions of the writer
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sitnews.
Send A Letter -------Read
Letters
E-mail the Editor at
editor@sitnews.us
Sitnews
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska
|