05 Oct 2006
Secondhand smoke in cars may lead to dangerous levels of contaminants for children

As my Air Force sergeants used to say, "Smoke'em if you got'em!" - because you won't be able to much longer. Prediction: in 10 years it will be considered child abuse to smoke anywhere children are present, be it in your private car or in Yosemite National Park.

Were I so inclined, I could probably raise some issues with the science here, but that's not my point. Note the rationale the researchers used to counter the "privacy concerns" raised by opponents:

Although concerns have been raised about government intrusion on personal privacy, supporters of smoking bans note that SHS is dangerous to children's health and that the use of safety devices such as seat belts and infant car seats are already widely legislated.

If this doesn't perfectly illustrate the dread "slippery slope", I don't know what does. We already have padded playgrounds and trees being cut down for safety's sake: what's next?

We're well on the way to perfect safety: and perfect tyranny.

In the first study to measure secondhand smoke (SHS) in cars in real driving conditions, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers have shown that smoking in cars can produce unsafe levels of SHS.

(link) [EurekAlert! - Breaking News]

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