Cars With Kids Next Battlefield In Anti-Smoking War
Remember the days when you could smoke anywhere you wanted without fear of reprisal? (Other than, um, cancer ) Well, if Queens City Council member James Gennaro has his way, city dwellers could soon be [barred from lighting up] in yet another locale: cars with passengers under the age of 18. I am just seeking every opportunity I can to denormalize smoking and to try to put it out of the reach of kids, Gennaro told reporters yesterday. I've lost family members to lung cancer and I've seen what happens. Gennaro, who is chairman of the councils Environmental Protection Committee, is planning to [unveil the proposal](http://www.nypost.com/seven/08152007/news/regionalnews/ciggies_make_kids_carsick__qns__pol_regionalnews_frankie_edozien.htm)which would fine drivers up to $400 for first-time violations and up to $2000 for repeated puffingtoday at city hall.
So does this mean that New York is on its way to becoming a full-blown [nanny state] as critics accuse? The city has recently passed a whole slew of ordinances banning everything from [noise](http://www.nypress.com/blogx/display_blog.cfm?bid=21844102) to [trans fat](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16051436/) to [cell phones in schools](http://www.nypress.com/blogx/display_blog.cfm?bid=70687825). But those who have expressed support for similar proposals, including Mayor Bloomberg, argue that while people should have the right to smoke in their cars, kids have a right to be carcinogen free: If it's a child in the car, who doesn't have the ability to speak up and protect themselves, then society does start to have an interest, the Mayor once said. Genaro put it a little more colorfully back in June: Boo-hoo. You can't subject kids to 43 carcinogens and 250 poisonous chemicals and claim privacy. Get over it. Their right to privacy doesn't extend so far as to poisoning kids. Several districts, including RocklandCounty, already have similar legislation on the books.
Photo courtesy of [navet on Flickr]