Add CCTV for enforcing this law and it would be perfect!
California’s Govenor Schwarzenegger signed a bill, effective as of January 1, that banned smoking in personal automobiles if anyone under the age of 18 is in the vehicle. However, the only way to get a ticket for this offense is to be pulled over for a moving violation, such as speeding or making an illegal turn.
I don’t know, my neighbor’s house is still pretty close, and he smokes when he works in the yard!
On October 9, Belmont, California, city officials passed a law banning smoking in apartment buildings, though smoking is still allowed in single-family dwellings and their yards, as well as units and yards in apartment buildings, condominiums, and townhouses that don’t share common floors or ceilings with other units…
Thank goodness they quit smoking!
The Food and Drug Administration has announced that Pfizer’s smoking-cessation drug Chantix is under investigation due to reports of dangerous side effects…The complaints included 55 reports of suicide, 199 reports of suicidal thoughts, 417 cases of depression, and hundreds of reports of anger, aggression, hallucination, and homicidal thoughts.
Just in case you thought it was just us.
United Kingdom: The revised Highway Code for the Department of Transport (National) that was released on Spetember 28 now lists smoking while driving as a distraction, which means that police and lawyers can cite it in court when looking to convict for a traffic offense. Other driving distractions on the list include eating or drinking, turning on a radio, inserting CDs or tapes, arguing with passengers, trying to read a map, and playing loud music.
Just in case you thought Americans were the only stupid people on the planet.
England: Six police officers in full riot gear stormed the Copper Pot pub on September 8 after an enraged cricket fan lit a cigarette in protest when the bar’s TV’s channel was changed from the England v. India cricket game to a football game. Pub staff, after asking John Vaughan to extinguish his smoke, hit the bar’s panic button, which summoned the local authorities. Despite police involvement, no arrests were made and Vaughan peacefully left the premises.
Is Everybody Stupid?
Taken From The News Section Of The Spring 2008 Issue Of Cigar Magazine
Maybe this calls for a little civil disobedience. I hate smoking, but maybe I’ll take it up just to use it as a protest. But it’s kind-of hard to follow the formula I learned from Dave Ridley’s video, “The Four Cylinders of Civil Disobedience“.
M = Moral High Ground - Does the act of civil disobedience have the moral high ground? This would be hard with smoking due to some pre-existing misconceptions.
P = Publicity - Are a lot of people around when the disobedience is performed? Was there an announcement before it happened?
S = Sympathy - If/When the authorities act in response to the disobedience, is there sympathy for the cause?
C = Change - Does the disobedience result in a change in policy?
Just because an act doesn’t run on all four of the cylinders, doesn’t disqualify the act, but it means there would be less impact. Me, I’ll probably just skip it in this case, and take a different approach.
Comment by Anthony Martin — February 15, 2008 @ 10:02 pm
I could not agree more.
Comment by Lando — March 25, 2008 @ 3:59 pm