Okotoks, Alberta - Smoking in Vehicles With Kids Present Banned..

September 4, 2008 - Starting Monday,September 1, 2008 the
Town of Okotoks, Alberta is banning smoking in vehicles when someone under 16 is inside. Okotoks is the first Alberta community to pass this bylaw. Similar provincial laws exist in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario. Also New Brunswick to ban smoking in cars with children or youth present..

City Councelor, Stephen Clark, says the law is meant to protect young children while also educating their parents. "I believe that most parents, once they're well aware of the health hazards to their children, especially infants - an hour in a confined area like a car where smoking is taking place is equivalent to a child smoking a pack of cigarettes. To an infant, it's very dangerous, the concentration of second hand smoke in a vehicle, in a closed space like that, is 11 times more than in a bar."

The Town says first time offenders will most likely just get a warning, but if they're caught again, they'll be hit with a $2-hundred fine.

Related news brief: At least one municipality in Alberta is considering a ban smoking in cars when kids are present.

Reference: Smoking bylaw begins in Okotoks, CTV.ca, 9/1/2008.

Banning smoking when children are in the car is a no-brainer - even Philip Morris agrees. Surveys of smokers have found that 90% of smokers support a ban on smoking in cars when children are present.

SUMMARY: Laws Banning Smoking in Vehicles Carrying Children – International Overview
Canadian Cancer Society, August 19, 2008.

TobaccoWatch.org