Statewide ban on smoking in cars with kids takes effect Jan. 1, 2008
California Political Desk
December 12, 2007
SACRAMENTO – Come Jan. 1, 2008, California will become the third state in the nation to ban smoking in cars with minors, thanks to a cancer-prevention measure carried by Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach.
The long-term health benefits from this new law can only be positive for the well being of our children,” Oropeza said. “Reducing disease, from asthma to lung cancer, simply is the right thing to do.”
During hearings earlier this year, health experts testified that recent scientific studies, including a 2006 report by the Harvard School of Public Health, found that second-hand smoke in a car can be up to 10 times more dangerous than in a home.
Oropeza’s measure, Senate Bill 7, imposes a $100 fine on drivers and passengers cited for smoking in a car with another person aged 17 or younger.
Protecting non-smokers and cleaning up the environment have long been priorities for Oropeza, a cancer survivor. Enacted Jan. 1, 2007, was AB 2067, Oropeza’s measure banning smoking in common-use areas of covered parking lots and adjacent stairwells, lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, elevators and restrooms.
Gov. Schwarzenegger, despite being a well-known cigar smoker, signed both AB 2067 and SB7. Both measures were supported by numerous health groups.
For more information on SB 7, including the Harvard study cited above and an updated Fact Sheet, visit her Web site below.
Elected to the Assembly in 2000 and the Senate in 2006, Jenny Oropeza is one of the highest-ranking Latinos in the Legislature and chairs the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. For more, visit www.senate.ca.gov/oropeza
The long-term health benefits from this new law can only be positive for the well being of our children,” Oropeza said. “Reducing disease, from asthma to lung cancer, simply is the right thing to do.”
During hearings earlier this year, health experts testified that recent scientific studies, including a 2006 report by the Harvard School of Public Health, found that second-hand smoke in a car can be up to 10 times more dangerous than in a home.
Oropeza’s measure, Senate Bill 7, imposes a $100 fine on drivers and passengers cited for smoking in a car with another person aged 17 or younger.
Protecting non-smokers and cleaning up the environment have long been priorities for Oropeza, a cancer survivor. Enacted Jan. 1, 2007, was AB 2067, Oropeza’s measure banning smoking in common-use areas of covered parking lots and adjacent stairwells, lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, elevators and restrooms.
Gov. Schwarzenegger, despite being a well-known cigar smoker, signed both AB 2067 and SB7. Both measures were supported by numerous health groups.
For more information on SB 7, including the Harvard study cited above and an updated Fact Sheet, visit her Web site below.
Elected to the Assembly in 2000 and the Senate in 2006, Jenny Oropeza is one of the highest-ranking Latinos in the Legislature and chairs the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. For more, visit www.senate.ca.gov/oropeza
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