We Kid You Not Childfree Forums

Do you think it should be against the law for parents to smoke?

Society is totally kiddy centered and over-protective about anything that may harm a child-physically or mentally. With this in mind, I haven't seen a large uproar about smokers breeding even though everyone knows it isn't a good thing. There are smoking bans in most public places because of the effects of second hand smoke and most of these bans came into effect when people starting crying that second hand smoke may harm kids. As soon as the "may harm kids" tool was used, smoking bans were placed everywhere.

It might be hard to prove a parent is smoking in their home with kids around, but that never prevented other laws from taking effect that are used to protect kids that are hard to prove-child abuse/punishment that don't show physical marks, underage drinking, etc.

My mother smoked during all of her pregnancies and my parents smoked with us in the car and in the house. They didn't know any better back then.

However, today we know all about how bad smoking is - especially second hand smoke and there is no excuse for smoke during pregnancy or with children (or adults) around.

There is a law in Ontario that you can't smoke with kids in the car. I've never heard of anyone actually being charged. It's impossible to enforce.

Quote:Drivers lighting up with little ones in the car will now face a fine, as the Smoke-Free Ontario Amendment Act 2008 makes smoking in any motor vehicle illegal when passengers under the age of 16 are present.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.h...z0sXSZc9d9

Having said all that, I'm not sure how I feel about government intervention with regards to peoples' personal lives.

I don't really know, but there are laws about putting kids in car seats, helmets when they bicycle, etc., this could be just another law that protects them like that. I have strong feelings because my mother smoked like a fucking chimney until it killed her and I was trapped in her death cloud because as a child I didn't have the option to leave and rent my own apartment. As a result of having to suck up her smoke for 18 years I was very sick as a child, I had to have gamma globulin injections each month to keep from having to live in hospitals. My doctor told her she was putting me in danger by smoking in the house and she told him to fuck off. Obviously her needs outweighed my health. I was miserable, I'm shorter than everyone else in the family, and I'm extremely sensitive to smells and certain chemicals.

So saying all that I feel she put me in danger the same as parents who let their kids bounce around on the freeway in the back of their pickup trucks, or don't put them in proper car seats when they're little, or don't make them wear helmets in certain circumstances, so maybe there can be a law about smoking inside a home where children are trapped and cannot move out on their own.

Yes. And they should be horsewhipped if caught. My parents smoked all the time and gave me breathing problems which I still have, like Anastasia. They also both smoked themselves to death. I'm feeling a little autocratic today. I don't like kids, but they have no choice. If crack parents can lose their kids, so too, should smokers lose them.

Yes! My grandfather smoked and even as a kid I would cough because of it. It's pushing that garbage down someone's throat and as a kid you don't have the option of leaving.

I also have permanent health problems related to both of my parents chain smoking.

My mom smoked heavily -- probably three packs a day so I wish it were illegal, but I doubt something like that could be enforced. Too bad it couldn't though because children really are helpless in those situations. I remember after I moved out of the house how quickly I became intolerant to cigarette smoke and I fully realized just how nasty it really is.

My mother died of stomach cancer but I believe smoking played a role in her death. She smoked unfiltered cigarettes and there were always little tobacco flakes around her ashtrays. Surely over the years she swallowed a great deal of those. If chewing tobacco can cause cancer of the mouth and throat, her smoking could have contributed to the cancer. We can never be sure because she was an X-Ray technician and x-rays have also been linked to stomach cancer.

As much as I'd love to see it banned, I doubt it would be enforcable.

ban smoking outright, that would fix it!

(sorry to those of you that smoke, if you do)

Im allergic and it gives me asthma, plus that stuff stinks!!!

They should ban smoking not just to protect the kiddlywinks, but to protect us all.

Oh yeah, and if any smoker tells you that the government needs the TAX that they collect from the sale of cigarettes, tell them thats just a rort. The government (and taxpayers) spend FAR MORE on dealing with the results of smoking, like heart disease, lung cancer, asthma etc, then they ever would collect from tax from cigarettes...

I have very mixed emotions about smoking.
My father died from smoking when I was only 2
Yet somehow I picked up the habit myself at age 16.
AND smoked like crazy till 1995 when I quit
"Cold Turkey"
Mother never smoked, so I can't blame her for this.
But my brother smoked & still does today
He is 4 years older then me, and he is still breathing, lol.
But as far as allowing the government to tell someone what they can or cannot do in the privacy of their own home is going way too far off base, IMHO of course.
So, NO, if parents want to kill their kids, so be it.
As in the words of Bill Cosby.
"I brought you into this world, I can take you out".
So however a parent chooses to do, that is their business, not mine and certainly not the governments either.
Its called thinning the herd, lol.
Survival of the fittest, that kind of thing.
I am sorry for all of you who had parents that smoked and now your suffering the consequences of that act.
That does suck. I really feel bad for anyone who had to endure a house full of smoke . And as a kid you really have no choice in the matter.( back then)
But today, kids are now being taught to be narc's on their own parents. And I am sure there is a lot less smoking going on inside homes then one may think.
I know a few people who still do smoke. And they will only smoke outside the home.
So there are still smokers in this world who ARE considerate of others.
And if one grew up with an inconsiderate human for a parent, I would not blame the cigarettes as much.
Cause that same inconsiderate human would find some other way to be just as obnoxious.

So, as you can see I am very torn between both sides
of this controversial matter.
I am just glad there was no poll to this question.
I would not know which side to fall on.