Some years ago there lived across the hall in my apartment a couple with a young son, later also with a new baby. Both parents were smoking most times I saw them. I guessed each smoked about 3 packs a day. Whenever their door was open for just a bit, the stench invaded the hallway. I would prop a hall door open to have it dissipate. I had to put extensions on my door, to close off the air coming in from the hall.
Since they were the apartment managers, I had at times to go to their door. Inside, the walls and ceiling were intensely yellow-brown. I wonder what the lungs of the young son and new baby looked like. --David Shove Roseville On Wed, 9 Mar 2005, M Charles Swope wrote: > > Dan, > > No, my tongue is not in my cheek. I truly believe that > exposing children in the home to tobacco smoke is a > form of child abuse and should be prohibited. > > Now saying that it should be prohibited says nothing > about how one goes about enforcing the prohibition. I > am NOT in favor of a total ban on tobacco. I agree > that doing that simply won't work. We'd just create a > black market for it. Without going so far as to have > the police invade homes looking for signs of smoking > around children, I'd treat it the way we treat other > forms of abuse. When it comes to the attention of the > authorities through a complaint by someone, a social > worker, friend or relative, I'd haul the parents > before a judge, have an order entered prohibiting the > parent from exposing the child and, after appropriate > warnings and such, impose penalties sufficient to > deter the behavior. > > We don't routinely send the police out looking for > parents who beat their children but when it is brought > to the attention of the authorities we do something > about it, ranging from requiring parenting classes to > termination of parental rights and prison. No reason > not to treat the smoking problem the same way (not > necessarily the same penalties but penalties tailored > to the behavior). > > Charlie Swope > Ward 1 > > > ------------------------------------------------- > JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: > http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ > ------------------------------------------------- > POST MESSAGES HERE: [email protected] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ > ------------------------------------------------- JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- POST MESSAGES HERE: [email protected] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
