Ontario is considering a ban on smoking in cars with children, what a ludicrous idea says this non-smoker. What’s next? You cannot have a Whopper or Big Mac in there with the kids either because we all know they taste sooooo good but are bad for you? Is this the thin edge before an unprecedented slippery slope to a Big Brother-ish state where no one exhales?
Yes, I understand the health benefits and yes, kids should not be sucking back second-hand smoke from their parents. Think about it though, if a government can tell you to not smoke in your own vehicle, which you bought and paid taxes on, what will you say when they tell you not to smoke in your house, or even on your own property? Does that idea even sound far-fetched considering what the provincial Liberals want to do?
Introducing this legislation is a no-brainer, home-run for Premier Dalton McGuinty. Who is going to realistically oppose this ban? Also, how in the world will this be enforced? Do we not have more pressing menacing problems on our roads? The tricked out cars going ridiculous speeds? People selectively choosing to roll through stop signs? Crumbling infrastructure, no central recording hub for municipal bridge inspections etc.
If high cigarette taxes and prices will not stop smokers, do the Liberals actually think this will work? How many smokers do you know who make a run to their nearest Native reserve for ‘putters’ and lower-priced cigarettes sold by the zip loc bag…or even the garbage bag.
Smokers are a resilient lot. You see them huddled outside of office buildings downtown, on display, fighting the elements for their ‘nic-fit’ and for the rest of the non-smoking righteous to point a finger at and ridicule. Before a flight they will happily leave an airport to have a cig and go through the tedious security checks…again…willingly.
Ultimately, if you get the parents to ash out in cars, what will stop them from doing it when they get home? What will stop them from doing it two blocks down the road after they receive their $200 fine?
If smokers are dumb and selfish enough to smoke around their kids anywhere, let alone in confined cars, how is this going to really stop them?
On Deadline: Above the Fold to -30- 