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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Canada: Smoking Bans in Cars Carrying Children Gains Support [10/20-5]
Excerpts from: Dunlop supports OMA on in-car smoking
By Frank Matys Orillia Today [10/20/04]
A push by the Ontario Medical Association to snuff out smoking in cars occupied
by children is being hailed as a breath of fresh air for the province's youngest
passengers.
At the time, Dunlop called the noxious practice a form of child abuse, while vowing to introduce a private member's bill making it illegal to smoke in a car occupied by anyone 16 and younger. "If it saves lives, we have to look at it," he added this week. Dunlop had intended to meet with police, physicians and others who may have an interest in the issue, but now believes legislation banning the practice would have a better chance of success if spearheaded by the OMA, rather than as a private member's bill.
"They are the people that represent the health-care professionals of our province," he said. "I hope we can find a way to adopt their recommendations."
According to the OMA, second-hand smoke in a vehicle is 23 times more toxic than in a house, due to the small, confined space.
"Children are especially at risk to the effects of second-hand smoke, because they are still physically developing and have higher breathing rates than adults," said Dr. Ted Boadway, executive director of health policy. "Further, children have little control over their indoor environments." Dunlop agreed. "In a car, it is so confined, and you get some little toddler and he or she is breathing in second-hand smoke," he added. "How much worse could that be than being in a restaurant with second-hand smoke?"
Dunlop is confident members of all parties would gladly set aside partisan politics to ensure passage of such a law, though he anticipates some measure of opposition from civil rights groups. "They will say it is an infringement on your rights," he added. "But I just think that health care has to override that."
At the same time, Dunlop readily conceded that enforcing such a law would be difficult, if not impossible, saying police are unlikely to spend their days trolling Ontario's roadways in search of motorists who light up in the presence of children. "That is going to be the hard part, because it is so hard to prove," he added. "It just seems to me it would be so unfair for young people to be subjected to smoke in that way, particularly for children under a certain age.
"If you are 16 or over you can tell mom and dad, 'Go and smoke' or 'I don't want you to smoke."
When Dunlop first introduced the idea in April of last year, his office was deluged with a barrage of "nasty" e-mails from constituents unhappy with the prospect of such a far-reaching ban. "They said, 'It's none of your business, don't go down this road,'" he said of the reaction.
"But if our generation can improve it for the next generation, we should be doing it."
click here to view the OMA's Report (PDF)
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