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Yes, we get it. Secondhand smoke is bad for everyone. Kids are especially vulnerable, health-wise. But will nothing be left to parental responsibility or judgment?
Apparently not, if Senate Bill 2083 is allowed to pass. The measure seeks to make it illegal to smoke in cars when someone younger than 18 is present.
The bill references the statutory definition of “smoking” as meaning “inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted or heated tobacco product or plant product intended for inhalation in any manner or in any form.” This includes e-cigs, under the law.
So, it’s got to be lit. Does stubbed-out count? That could be done quickly, which raises the question: How is this enforceable?
It raises another question, too: Wouldn’t public education be a better way to get the point across?
Utah expert visits our homeless
Lloyd Pendleton, who retired as Utah’s homeless coordinator, said he is talking with the “big guy in the sky” in deciding whether he should move to Oahu to help tackle the highest per capita homeless rate in the country.
Let’s hope for a quick response. Mayor Kirk Caldwell is in talks with Pendleton, who helped Salt Lake City reduce overall chronic homelessness by 72 percent in 10 years. Imagine the possibilities for Oahu. Pendleton, 75, was in town at the invitation of local leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who want to be more involved with reducing homelessness in the islands.