British Columbia - 1st man fined for smoking in car with his child present..

June 25, 2009 - METRO VANCOUVER — Langley RCMP handed out their first ticket recently to a driver caught smoking with a child (kids, children) in the car.

The man was pulled over while he was smoking with a 13-year-old in the car. The driver was handed a ticket with a $109 fine and also was given a 24-hour suspension for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Langley RCMP Cpl. Holly Marks believes it was one of the first tickets of its kind handed out in B.C. "The wife was in the car and she was not upset that he got a ticket," she explained Wednesday. "She told the officer she had been trying to get her husband to stop smoking in the car."

On April 7, 2009 World Health Day the Canadian Province of British Columbia (BC, B.C.) put into force legislation aimed at protecting children (kids, under 16) from second-hand smoke in vehicles (cars, automobiles). The offence is listed as Section 231.1(3) of B.C.'s Motor Vehicle Act.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, second-hand smoke contains thousands of chemicals, many of which cause cancer. Infants and children are especially at risk because their lungs are still developing. The cancer society says cigarettes produce about 12 minutes of smoke, yet the smoker may inhale only 30 seconds of smoke from their cigarette. The rest of the smoke lingers in the air for everyone to breathe.
Each year, more than 1,000 non-smoking Canadians die from second-hand smoke, the society estimates.

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Reference: Langley RCMP hand out first ticket to man smoking in car with a child by NEAL HALL, VANCOUVER, 6/24/2009.

Some locations with with similar smoking bans: Maine, California, Arkansas and Louisiana have passed similar laws (California became the 3rd state. Arkansas now bans smoking in cars with children age 6 and younger, while Louisiana has limited the ban when children 13 and younger are in the vehicle.), as have Puerto Rico. Arkansas claims to be the first jurisdiction in the world to ban smoking in vehicles carrying kids.

Canada: - enacted or proposed: Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, Yukon and Okotoks, Alberta.

Australia - enacted or proposed: South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria.

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