Senate Bill S3191B

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3191

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to restricting
areas where smoking is permitted


 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :
Section 1399-0 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 19; subdivision 1 of section 1399-q as amended by chapter
13 of the laws of 2003; section 1399-v as added by chapter 244 of the
laws of 1989 are amended; section 1399-v imposes penalties.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is a major, preventable contributor to
acute and chronic adverse health outcomes that affect children
disproportionately. The predominant source of SHS among children is
domestic exposure, and while up to two thirds of U.S.  households have
car smoking bans, an unacceptable number of children remain
vulnerable.

In 2006, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reported the
results of their study on SHS in automobiles. The study aimed to
simulate children's exposure to secondhand smoke in a motor vehicle by
measuring carbon dioxide and respirable suspended particles (RSP)
under actual driving conditions. The levels of RSPs detected were
              

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3191A

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to restricting
areas where smoking is permitted


 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :
The purpose of this legislation is to, prohibit smoking in private
passenger automobiles where minors less than 14 years of age are
passengers in such vehicles.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :
Section 1. Section 1399-0 of the public health law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 19.

19.a. Prohibits smoking in a private passenger car, private passenger
van or private passenger truck where minors under fourteen years of
age are passengers in such vehicle.

19.b sets forth a rebuttable presumption of smoking for purposes of
this subdivision.

Section 2. Subdivision 1 of section 1399-q of the public health law,
as amended by chapter 13 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as
follows:
              

1. private homes, private residences and private automobiles except as
provided in subdivision nineteen of section thirteen hundred
ninety-nine-o of this article.

Section 2 of the bill makes article 13-E of the public Health Law
regulation of smoking applicable to automobiles in those instances
detailed in the new subdivision 19 of section 1399-0 set forth above.

Section 3. Section 1399-v of the public health law, as added by
chapter 244 of the laws of 1989, is amended by adding subdivision two.

2. Any person who violates this law shall be liable for a fine of not
more than one hundred dollars to be imposed by any enforcement
officer.

Section 4. Effective Date of this law shall be on the one hundred
twentieth day after it shall have become law.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The harmful effect secondhand smoke (SHS) can have on people,
especially children, has been well documented. The EPA estimates that
secondhand smoke causes up to 62,000 deaths each year among nonsmokers
in the united States, including 3,000 deaths due to lung cancer alone.

Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is a major preventable contributor to
acute and chronic adverse health outcomes that affect children
disproportionately. An estimated 300,000 children nationwide develop
lower respiratory infections each year as a result of exposure to
secondhand smoke, with approximately 15,000 of these children
hospitalized due to their infections. And, exposure to secondhand
smoke is a primary cause of asthma.

In 2006, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a report, "The Health
Consequences 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 immediate, adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and that
because the bodies of infants and children are still developing; they
are especially vulnerable to the poisons in SHS.
That same year, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reported
the results of a Harvard School of Public Health study on SHS in
automobiles. The study simulated children's exposure to secondhand
smoke in a motor vehicle by measuring carbon dioxide and respirable
suspended particles (RSP) under actual driving conditions. The
researchers determined that the levels of RSP detected were deemed
unsafe, particularly for children. Their conclusion was that private
passenger cars are a domestic environment with the potential to yield
unsafe levels of SHS contaminants.

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 by the
significant, well documented negative health impact on those children
forcibly exposed to SHS in automobiles.

California, Maine, Louisiana, and Arkansas have enacted comparable
legislation. 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 19 other states and the District of Columbia have
similar legislation pending. At present, on a related front, seven
states have enacted legislation prohibiting smoking in cars that are
transporting foster children.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :  1997-1998 (A.8847 - reported from
Health;.  referred to Codes), 1999-2000 (A.3990- reported from Health;
referred to Codes;, referred to Codes/S.5061- referred to Health),
2001-2002 (A.773-reported from Health; referred to Codes/S.1333-
referred to Health), 2003-2004 (A.56 - reported from Health; referred
to Codes; amended & recommitted to Codes/S.189) 2005-06 (A.175 -
reported from Health; referred to Codes), 2005-2006 (A.175- reported
from Health; referred to Codes) 2007-2008 (A.156- reported from
Health; Third Reading Calendar
742; committed to Codes).

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become law.