BILL NUMBER: S6743
SPONSOR: STAVISKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to prohibiting
smoking tobacco in motor vehicles where a minor is a passenger
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to prohibit smoking tobacco in motor
vehicles where minors less than 18 years of age are passengers in such
vehicles; traffic infraction
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends the vehicle and traffic law by adding a new section
1229-e to read, -as follows: Smoking in motor vehicles located upon a
public highway where a minor under eighteen years of age is a passenger
is prohibited. Any operator or passenger twenty - one years of age or
older, violating this section shall be guilty of a traffic infraction.
Establishes the rebuttable by evidence presumption of smoking for the
Purposes of this subdivision
Sets the forth what "smoking' means for the purposes of this subdivision
Section 2. Sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The harmful effect secondhand smoke (SHS) can have on people, especial-
ly, children hat been well documented. The EPA estimates that secondhand
smoke causes up to 62,800 deaths each year 'among nonsmokers in the
United States, including 3,800 deaths due to lung cancer alone.-
In 2006, the U.S, Surgeon General issued a report, "The Health Conse-
quences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke," saying that SHS is a
serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in
children The report details that even brief exposure to SHS has immedi-
ate,adverse effects
on the cardiovascular , system and that because the bodies of infants-
and children are still developing are especially vulnerable to the
poisons in SHS. That Same year, the American Journal Of Preventive Medi-
cine reported the results of a Harvard School of Public Health study on
SHS in automobiles. The study simulated children's exposure to second-
hand smoke in a motor vehicle by measuring carbon dioxide and respirable
suspended particles under actual driving conditions. The researchers
determined that the levels of RSP detected were deemed unsafe, partic-
ularly for children. Their conclusion was that private passenger cars
are a domestic environment with the potential to yield unsafe levels of
SHS contaminants.,
At its Annual Meeting in June 2014, the American Medical Association
reaffirmed its commitment to protecting children from second-hand smoke.
The AMA said:
Studies suggest that children are more vulnerable than adults to second-
hand smoke and that second-hand smoke can-increase likelihood of ear
disease, lower respiratory infections and asthma. The AMA is dedicated
to reducing exposure to Second-hand tobacco smoke for both children and
adults and voted today to add to its policies on the topic, strengthen-
ing its support of tobacco-free and smoke-free environments. The new
policy supports legislation that prohibits smoking while operating or
riding in a vehicle with children - similar to policies in effect in
Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Maine, Oregon, Utah and Puerto Rico.
"The dangers of secondhand smoke are marked and proven, and no one is
more at risk than our youth," said William Kobler, MD, member of the
Board of Trustees. It is important that we do all that we can to reduce
exposure to second-hand smoke by supporting smoke-free environments,
including vehicles." http://www.ama-assn.org/ama pubine ws/n ews/2014/
2014-06 -10-new-pol icies-to-imp rov ethe-health-of -thenation-dayt-
wo.page download ed 01.29.2015
Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is a major preventable contributor to
acute and chronic adverse health outcomes that affect children dispro-
portionately.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in
children, second hand smoke causes the following:
*ear infections
* more frequent and severe asthma attacks, onset of asthma in previously
healthy children
*respiratory symptoms. (coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath)
*respiratory infections (bronchitis, pneumonia)
*a greater risk for sudden infant death syndrome. In the U.S., for chil-
dren aged 18 months or younger, secondhand smoke exposure is responsible
for an estimated 150,000-300,000 new cases of bronchitis and pneumonia
annually and approximately 7,500 - 15,000 hospitalizations annually.
Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home increase their
lung cancer risk by 20-30k. (information The CDC reports that there are
more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and about
70 that can cause cancer. The World Health Organization has established
25 mcg/m3 as the limit for safe particulate matter levels.
In 2012, The Scottish Centre for Indoor Air at the University of Aber-
deen conducted a study that highlights the dangers of SH5 in automo-
biles. Researchers measured fine particulate matter in the rear passen-
ger seat of cars driven by 14 smokers and 3 nonsmokers. Particulate
matter levels averaged 7.4 mcg/m3 during smoke-free drives but were 11
times higher (85 mcg/m3) in cars where smoking occurred. Average levels
peaked at 385 mcg/m3, with the highest level being 880 mc8/m3.
While awareness of SHS has modified the behavior of smoking in house-
holds, the same cannot be said of automobiles. A November 2012 Center
for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy study found that two
out of three parents with smoke-free home policies do not enforce the
same rules in their cars. Some three-quarters of smoking parents admit-
ted that someone had smoked in their car in the last three months. In
addition, only one-quarter of smoking parents adopt a smoke-free car
policy and nearly half of those who do not enforce a ban, smoke while
their children are in the car. Smoking is prohibited in many public
places such as airplanes, shopping malls, restaurants, bars, and a whole
range of facilities and spaces serving child age populations. The
dangers secondhand smoke can pose to a child in an enclosed area like a
private passenger vehicle are severe. We currently provide protections
for both children and drivers by mandating the use of car seats and
seatbelts in private automobiles. This bill is an extension of those
protections by providing children clean air to breathe. The $100 penalty
imposed for violation of this ban is justified
In New York State on the local level, Rockland County has already
enacted a ban on smoking in cars with children up to the age of 18. At
least 15 other states and the District of Columbia have similar legis-
lation pending. At present, seven states have enacted legislation
prohibiting smoking in cars that are transporting foster children. by
the significant, well., documented negative health impact on those chil-
dren forcibly exposed to SHS in automobiles. This act shall take effect
on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become law.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: A.5838 / S2064 - referred to health
2021-2022: A. No same as/S.4211 - Referred to Health.
2019-2020: A.3962/S.2657 - Referred to Health.
2017-2018: A.5096/S.5209 - Referred to Codes.
2015-2016: A.1892-A/S.3155-A - Referred to Rules.
2013-2014: A.7777/S.5206 - Referred to Judiciary.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
None to the state.