Two years ago (see Apr. 30, 2004) the California Assembly narrowly defeated a bill that would have banned smoking in cars when kids were present, but now Arkansas has enacted such a bill, applying to cars in which younger (age 7 and below) children are present (Virginia Vickery, “Some in Siloam Springs worry about statewide smoking ban”, Benton County Daily Record, Apr. 30). The bill provides for “primary enforcement” of the ban, meaning that police officers can pull over a car in which they observe the offense, rather than just write it up after pulling a car over for other reasons. (Jake Bleed and Michael R. Wickline, “Lighting up with young kids in vehicle banned under bill”, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Apr. 8). Michael Siegel, whose fascinating weblog on tobacco policy for some reason had escaped my notice up to now, has a discussion (Apr. 26) (via Sullum). In a separate post (May 1), Siegel notes that some anti-smoking activists in the Pacific Northwest are pursuing an “informal, unorganized and quiet movement toward making it a criminal act to smoke around kids” under any circumstances, including in parents’ own homes, which would be categorized as child abuse (Dan Tilkin and staff, “Doctor pushes to make smoking an act of child abuse”, KATU, Apr. 27). More: Jacob Sullum comments at Reason “Hit and Run” (May 2).
Banning smoking in cars
Two years ago (see Apr. 30, 2004) the California Assembly narrowly defeated a bill that would have banned smoking in cars when kids were present, but now Arkansas has enacted such a bill, applying to cars in which younger (age 7 and below) children are present (Virginia Vickery, “Some in Siloam Springs worry about statewide […]
5 Comments
But, isn’t it child abuse to smoke around your kid? A kid shouldn’t have an increased chance of lung cancer, emphysema, and other diseases because it was born to a bunch of selfish morons.
Hint: the people enacting this aren’t doing it “for th children”(TM). It is just another convenient excuse in the crusade to ban smoking everywhere, all the time.
And I say that as one who hates tobacco, whose spouse and one child are asthmatic and therefore highly reactive to cigarette smoke, and who is routinely offended by selfish public smokers.
The ends do not justify the means.
maybe it should be child abuse to feed your children swordfish too, or to clean their bathroom with bleach products, or to permit them to eat too many Whoppers.
We need to draw a distinction bewtween abuse and bad parenting. We are far too nanny-state-ish. Far too many bad parenting practices are being labeled child abuse.
“We need to draw a distinction bewtween abuse and bad parenting. We are far too nanny-state-ish. Far too many bad parenting practices are being labeled child abuse.”
Exactly.
The problem is that the STATE has a track record as a FAR WORSE parent than almost any other. Children in the state’s care are, statistically speaking, the MOST likely to be mistreated.