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Last Monday, the Bangor City Council enacted an ordinance that prohibits drivers from smoking if there is a minor present in the car.
Bangor is the first municipality in Maine to have enacted such an ordinance, and one of the few in the entire country. Smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants, is already illegal in Maine, and the new ordinance is one more step towards educating people about the danger of secondhand smoke.
If caught, drivers face up to $50 in fines. The fine can be waived if the offender agrees to participate in cessation classes.
As of late last week, the Bangor Police Department stated they have not pulled anyone over yet, explaining that the law is currently more of an educational opportunity, and that they will be giving people time to learn about the law and change their behavior before cracking down and enforcing fines.
Also in an effort to reduce smoking in Maine, on January 5, Governor Baldacci proposed another raise in the tobacco tax. The tax would increase by $1 on July 1, 2007, raising it to an all-time high of $3 per pack.
University of Maine student Ashlyn Giles, a fourth-year English major with a creative writing concentration, recently found out about the new law and the tax increase.
She feels that the changes will be positive ones. “It’s a choice that [people are] making to be smokers,” Giles, a non-smoker, said. “Therefore if a law is made against it that is for the common good, especially if it’s the common good for children, I would [agree with it].”
Giles also feels strongly about the proposed tax increase. “I think that this has been coming for a while. Smoking is an addiction, and if you have an addiction you can be killing yourself, and be having the effect on yourself, but when it’s affecting other people, that’s when it becomes a state issue.”
Fourth-year English student Matthew Kaczowka, a periodic smoker, gave more cautious support of the measure. “I think its an interesting idea that’s difficult to implement,” he said. He questioned how the law would be implemented on interstate highways. “I think it could be a good idea, though,” he added.
Other students were less enthusiastic. “Ultimately, it’s your decision [to smoke],” said third-year new media student Lisa-Marie Silva, a smoker. “The next thing is they’ll say you can’t smoke in your house.”
Silva was wary about the increase in the tobacco tax as well, saying that it would have no more effect than when the university stopped cigarette sales on campus. “I still see just as many people smoking as I used to,” she said.
Bangor council member Susan Hawes was quoted in a New York Times article in opposition to the changes. “We [already] have so many people telling us what we can and cannot do in our own lives,” Hawes said. She considers more limitations to be unfair. Hawes is a nonsmoker and a local medical assistant.
Joy Leach, deputy director of communications for the Governor’s office, gives several reasons to support the tax increase and explains why Bangor’s new law is important.
“It is expected that $130 million will result from the $1 tax over the [Governor's] biennial [budget plan],” Leach said. “The Governor believes that this is a matter of ensuring Maine is a healthier state, especially in regards to keeping kids away from tobacco products.
“Additionally, the money raised from the tax will go to fund other priorities in the budget, which includes ensuring that a strong health care safety net remains for those who use health care services that are funded by the state,” Leach said.
The Maine Coalition on Smoking or Health provides more details on the effects of the tax increase. “Every year, 1,700 Maine kids become daily smokers. Over one-third of them will die prematurely as a result,” their study finds. They also cite that a $1 increase in Maine’s cigarette tax can prevent 4,800 smoking-related deaths, and save Maine $283 million in lifetime health costs.
According to the report, if Maine were to pay entirely for its annual smoking-related costs as a result of past and present smoking, the cigarette tax would have to be more than $11.60 per pack to even out the numbers.
With these changes in place, the Governor and local officials hope that Mainers are even closer to reaching the slogan that was coined when smoking was first banned in public places: “Breathe easy, you’re in Maine.”
Assistant news editor Brian Sylvester contributed to this report.
