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Utah Lawmakers Target Smokers Driving with Children
September 17, 2001

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News Summary

A bill under consideration in the Utah legislature would make it illegal for drivers to smoke when they have minors in the car, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Sept. 13.

Under the measure, which is in the state House Health and Human Services committee, drivers who smoke with people who are under age 19 in the car would be issued a citation as a secondary offense. The citation can only be issued if police stop the driver for another reason.

Rep. Patricia Jones (D-Holladay) plans to sponsor the measure, but Lt. Col. Judy Hamaker Mann of the Utah Highway Patrol said it could be difficult to enforce. "It causes problems and issues about evidence and what you go to court with," she said.

Rep. Carl Saunders (R-Ogden) further noted, "One concern is we might be infringing on private areas."

Saunders has proposed legislation that would add a 10-cent-a-pack tax to cigarettes. The money raised would be used for programs designed to reduce tobacco use, help smokers quit, and enforce state laws against selling cigarettes to minors.

In addition, the committee is considering a measure by Rep. Karen Morgan (D-Cottonwood Heights) that asks for half the interest on Utah's nearly $1 billion tobacco settlement share to be spent on smoking cessation and prevention programs.

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