DSD wrote:
As a smoker with kids, I never had a problem with going somehwere away from my son to smoke. It was a non issue. I chose to smoke, not him. I chose to smoke, not my husband. Therefore, since it was *my* choice, I, and only I, would suffer the consequences of that choice. Not just what it does internally, but going outside away from others. In the dead of winter if I want a puff, I go out to the garage and shiver. My choice. If Im driving and I *have* to have that cig now, I pull over to a parking lot and get out of the car.
When you become a parent you are no longer responsible soley for yourself. You are now responsible for another life. Your rights are overshadowed by someone elses.
I doubt you'd find anyone to disagree with anything you said up to this point. And your outlook and actions pertaining to smoking are admirable, and what most reasonable people would consider common sense when it came to it.
And before you say it, I agree that unfortunately not all people in our country look at it like this.
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In my opinion, you shouldnt be a parent if you dont put the health and protection of your kids over your own. If some people are too selfish to realize this, then yes, I think there is no reason why the state can not get involved and add laws to help those kids who do not have a voice.
Agreed. Except that I think there is such a thing as over-regulation. Not to mention, it's a law that will be very difficult to enforce. A police officer would have to literally catch someone in the act. Even if they saw someone with a cig in their mouth as they drove by, by the time they pull them over the person can ditch it and it becomes their word against the cop's. Then they get a lawyer involved, and you have to prove guilt. Then it starts to become a waste of time. I'm quite certain that cops in California have much better things to do than cite people for smoking.
As to children not having a voice, I'd have to disagree there. I know some kids that got some hella powerful lungs on them. And some of them can be quite clever for their age too. My step-sister smoked from the time she was 13 years old. She finally quit 2 years ago, mostly because her two boys, both under 6 years old at the time, pestered her into doing it. Every time they fired one up they would start giving her the stink eye, or say something about how bad cigs stanks, etc. It took her a while, but she finally kicked the habit. She directly attributes it to her boys telling her what was up.
A law like this looks good on paper, and seems like a good idea looking at the immediate effects of it, but if you start looking at the broader picture it might not be such a good idea. Right now the best thing the government can do is to continue the campaign to educate and warn people (and kids) against the dangers of smoking. It seems to be working pretty well over the last few years, and the banning of smoking in public places
was a good step. Because it is practical and not so difficult to enforce.