Bill aims to safeguard kids in smokers' cars
Friday, June 08, 2007
BY SUSAN K. LIVIO
Star-Ledger Staff
In a state where it's illegal to light up in nearly all public places, a panel of lawmakers yesterday voted to ban smoking in more personal spaces -- inside private vehicles when children are present.
The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee approved a bill that would allow police to stop drivers who are smoking while traveling with children under the age of 17.
"There are very few activities more dangerous for children than being confined in a car where someone is smoking," said Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), who sponsored the bill, S2641.
Violators would pay a $100 fine, but would not be required to pay insurance or state motor vehicle licensing surcharges, according to the bill. The committee added an amendment proposed by Sen. Tom Kean Jr. that would devote the money from fines to state-funded smoking cessation programs.
New Jersey would be the third state in the country to enact a ban on smoking while driving with kids, according to New Jersey GASP, Group Against Smoking Pollution. Karen Blumenfeld of GASP lauded Lesniak's bill as being "on the forefront of protecting children from secondhand smoke."
The bill passed unanimously and now heads to the full Senate for a vote.
Yet the issue is likely to attract more attention as the public learns the effort to control secondhand smoke will affect families' behavior in private.
George Koodray, the New Jersey state coordinator for The Smoker's Club Inc., a national group, said the bill is an example of government gone wild.
"We don't need regulations to give us the sense to know not to smoke in front of a child," said Koodray, reached last night after the vote. "What's troubling to us is the legislative process feels the need to address every conceivable contingency out there."
Public smoking zones shrank 14 months ago with the passage of an indoor smoking ban covering restaurants, bars and non-gaming rooms at casinos. And a bill is pending to end the exemption for all casino areas.
"I agree with the advice the legislation might give, but I don't agree with formalizing things like this," said Koodray, a board member for the Metropolitan Society, a private cigar club in Fairfield with about 150 members in New York and New Jersey.
Committee member Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) said she supported the bill reluctantly. "I don't know whether legislation is the proper vehicle for parental behavioral modification," Buono said. "I'm a little uncomfortable."
"I'm not," said the bill's sponsor, Lesniak, who likened exposing children to second-hand smoke to "child endangerment."
"We need to set an example," he added.
The Monmouth County municipality of Keyport set the tone in April by enacting its own ban on smoking in cars with kids. Jon Barone, a member of the Keyport Board of Health and the Monmouth County Regional Health Commission addressed the committee.
"I believe that children are the forgotten victims in the second-hand smoke debate, and should be protected as much, if not more, than adults who are exposed to second-hand smoke," Barone testified. "It is questionable whether or not children can avoid cigarette smoke at home, but they cannot escape it if they are in a car while someone is smoking."
Barone said critics who say this tramples on individual freedoms are overlooking the other legal demands the state places on drivers. The use of hand-held cell phones is prohibited, and drivers and front-seat passengers must wear seat belts.
The stakes are much higher for children, he added. "This is as serious a health risk as not putting a child in a car seat."
Chatham was almost the first community to enact a local ban, but in March the borough council decided against it because of their concern over legal challenges. Instead, it decided to recommend the Legislature enact a statewide ban.
Even the state's top health official acknowledged the bill may prove a hard sell.
Health and Senior Citizens Commissioner Fred Jacobs said Lesniak did not consult with him before introducing the measure last month. Jacobs said while he supports the idea of the bill, "I would prefer to start with a comprehensive education program because it deals with parental behavior and conduct."
If the bill ultimately clears the Legislature and is signed into law by Gov. Jon Corzine, New Jersey would follow Louisiana, which last year enacted a ban that affected drivers who smoked around children 12 and younger. Arkansas also cites drivers who smoke around children under 6 years old or weigh 60 pounds or less.
