Annotated Citations

My question is:

Should smoking bans be put into place when smoking becomes a health hazard to others?

Belluck, Pam. "Maine City Bans Smoking in Cars Carrying Children". New York Times 19 Jan. 2007: A14.

Pam Belluck is a well known author who writes regularly for the New York Times. In this particular article, she notes the reaction to the smoking ban in Bangor, Maine- it is now illegal for anyone to smoke in the car with a child present. The majority of reactions that she reports have a connotation of reluctant acceptance. Belluck also reports many other instances that have led up to this smoking ban, such as a petition made by a ten-year-old to ban smoking while driving. The general public of Bangor agrees that it is not fair to subject children to secondhand smoke- although many do admit it is more of a hassle. Another interesting argument that Belluck reports from her interviews is that smokers could "go through withdrawal symptoms while driving and become more of a danger on the road". Finally, she says that many believed the boycott of Bangor would be minimal- the facts are that it benefits the kids.

Griffith, Martin. "Activists Continue Smoke-Free Push".
Reno Gazette-Journal 20 Jan. 2007: N.P.

Martin Griffith is a writer for the Associated Press. Griffith reports that "more than half of Americans live in a city or state with laws mandating that workplaces, restaurants or bars be smoke-free, according to Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights." He reports that non-smoking bans are sweeping the nation, with more bans having been put into place than ever before, after a Surgeon General's report that even a few minutes of inhaling another's smoke can do damage to a non-smoker's health. An opposing side to these bans is that they drive away customers in certain businesses. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is reported to have said that they will continue to fight these bans as they "adversely affect businesses." Griffith ends with the information that these smoking bans that have already been put into place may swing other states into action- benefiting non-smokers' health everywhere.