MPP intrigued at move to ban smoking in cars
By Bill Rea

Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti may not get his private member's bill passed through the legislature, but he has intrigued colleagues, on both sides of the house.

The Liberal MPP announced recently that he was bringing forth legislation to protect children under the age of 16 from secondhand smoke in automobiles. The Protecting Children and Youth from Second Hand Smoke in Automobiles Act would give law enforcement officers the authority to pull over anyone smoking in a vehicle when passengers under 16 are present and fine them.

"This bill is important because research shows young people are especially susceptible to the harmful effects of second hand smoke and as a result they are more likely to suffer from cancer, heart disease, asthma and a number of other respiratory problems," Orazietti observed. "Some adults may not realize that for each hour a child is exposed to second hand smoke in a car, it is the equivalent to the child smoking an entire package of cigarettes."

Caledon - Dufferin MPP Sylvia Jones said she favours the measure.

"I think the health costs that we have to have as a society, with lung cancer and asthma in children, doesn't justify the fact that someone wants to light a cigarette in a car," she remarked, also pointing our children are protected by requiring that they wear seatbelts or helmets when they ride their bikes. She also commented that the fumes from one cigarette smoked in an enclosed car are comparable to a whole pack.

"That's hard to justify," Jones observed.