If smoking was going to be banned in cars, I would want it to be for these reasons, in this order:

1-There is a child in the car.
2-It could be a distractor from your driving (I think cell phone use should be illegal while driving)
3 (tied)-"Only you can prevent forest fires"
3 (tied)-Prevention of litter (because adults cannot seem to grasp the concept that the Earth is not your personal trash can)
4-For the sake of convertible drivers everywhere ("this one time...on the highway...")
5-To promote healthier living for society
6-Make my insurance premiums go down
7-If I ever find a used car I really, really want, but someone has smoked in it, I won't buy it and be ticked that someone smoked in my dream car

That ban is a done deal in Bangor Maine. Read about it here

I say no for the simple reason that inside of your car is private property. Police can't search it without your permission or a warrant. Banning smoking in a car is almost like banning smoking in an apartment building... or in a suburb.

YES, smelling smoke at a stop-light is annoying. But remember, it is also a choice for them to smoke.

You guys get all up in arms about protesters having the right to scream through bull horns on 9/11... well, I find that as offensive as you find cigarette smoke.

Yeah I think it's kind of silly, that's like saying you can't smoke in your own house, it's your property and even though I don't smoke, I don't believe the govt. should be able to tell you what you do in your property if you're above the legal age.

People should smoke in their cars if only there is a real need for them (haven't been smoking for a long time and now they are going to spend the next few hours in the car,going to the beach).But they have to consider the other people in the car.Most poeple don't like the smoke from the cigarette.Also,if there are young children,adults shouldn't smoke near them.But I don't think the government should ban it,maybe just people should learn to respect and consider each other.

when u are in your home its different. People arent exposed to it unwillingly.. if people know u are a smoker, they can choose to not visit ur home.. on the road we have no choice but to be there and put up with it.

and there are many many reasons why the government must regulate what we do on our own property when it affects others around us.

Is smoking in your car a Constitutional right?

I think they should only ban smoking in cars if there are children in the cars as well. Otherwise, it's nobody's business as long as they aren't littering their butts.
The government doesn't pay for these cars so they have no right to ban smoking in them unless there are innocent children riding in them that don't deserve being subjected to second-hand smoke.

add this one...

8. motorcyclists everywhere....

my mom flipped her cigarette out and hit a motorcyclist... he gave her the bird until he turned...my mom never flips her cigarette out anymore...

I live 10 miles from Bangor and you can't smoke in a car with a child present within city limits. It is a deterrant, but it doesn't stop anyone. Bangor doesn't have enough police to enforce it. Bangor isn't a very big city, so once you are over the bridge into Brewer or in any surrounding towns it's no longer in effect.
I think it's a great law for people not to smoke in cars with children, but for people who don't have kids I think it's silly.

People shouldn't throw butts out the window though, that is just plain rude.

Nope. Abortion isn't a constitutional right either. I guess it's okay to remove it then?

the government doesnt pay fpr our homes either but they can still tell us we cant have trash in our front yards or abandoned cars parked in the street. Its called *code enforcement*. ITs the goverfnments respomnsibility to look out for EVERYONES best interests not just one selfish person who wants to subject everyone around them to one of the most deadly carginogens out there.

Also, its EVERYONES business.. this hits me personally.. back in i beleive 1999 when FLorida had all those horrible fires (like, 15% of the state was on fire.. thats a lot. There wasnt day that went by that people werent being rushed to the hospital for smoke inhalation becuase it was so bad. Smoke closed several interstates, took down or threatened thousands of homes, burned HUNDREDS of thousands of acres of woods... i would get up in the morning and literally watch the smoke roll in and no longer be able to see the other side of my street.. and the closest fire to my house was aobut 40 miles east.) And it all started because somebody threw a cigerette butt out the window and it hit dry brush.

So yes, it needs to be controlled.

Is the right to smoke in your car backed by judicial precedent?

smoking is a privilage, not a right. as is abortion.

Eh, what does "pursuit of happiness" mean, anyways?

it really all depends on who you ask.

basically, i believe, it means we have the right to make our lives how we see fit.. but not a tthe expense of other people.

This could be fun.. I live in Fairfield; about an hour or so away from you..like I said though and you have reinforced; we've already done that in Maine..

Isn't that kind of an oxymoron?

If the government were truly truly interested in health measures, why is smoking not made illegal period? Here's where my irritation with this issue comes in....Smoking is a legal activity. The government has no right to ban one from doing so in this place or that place if it is on private property. I believe that includes restaraunts. This is just my opinion of course. I agree with you sandra, it is annoying to smell someone's smoke at a stoplight, but, quite frankly, I am more annoyed by the booming of rap music than I am of cigarette smoking. While I agree that one should not be smoking on the car witha child, thenone should probaly not smoke in a home with a child either. Can the government come and tell us we can no longer smoke in our own homes? I think that if the government wanted to do something real to promote our health, politicians would stop taking money from the tobacco lobbyists and end it altogether. It is the one and only substance regulated by the FDA that is guaranteed to kill you. It just doesn't make any sense.