By Joe Anuta
Two Queens lawmakers are pushing a bill to ban smoking in private vehicles if a passenger is less than 14 years old.
State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) and state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) want anyone caught by police smoking with a child in a car fined $100, the two said in a joint news release last week.
Stavisky and Weprin cited a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control that said one in five middle school and high school students rides in cars where someone is smoking.
The bill would protect youngsters who do not have a choice in breathing smoke-filled air and inhaling all the negative health effects associated with secondhand smoke, according to Weprin and Stavisky.
— Joe Anuta
