Bangor is First U.S. City to Ban Smoking in Cars with Children

Earlier this month the City Council of Bangor, Maine approved an ordinance that revised the Code of the City of Bangor to prohibit smoking in motor vehicles when there is a person younger than 18 years old present.  This ordinance was effective as of January 19.  As reported by the Bangor Daily News, an anonymous donor contributed $2,000 to pay for a radio campaign to inform the local community about the new measure.

Bangor appears to be the first U.S. city to enact such a measure, although similar bans have approved in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Puetro Rico. Other states are considering similar measures.

For some background information on the Bangor ordinance you can read item #3 from these minutes of the Bangor City Council Government Operations Committee (.doc format).  Please note that although these minutes indicate that a violation of the measure would be a "secondary offense", in the final approved ordinance this was revised to be a "primary offense," which means that police can stop a vehicle if a violation is observed.  The Bangor Daily News also has an article on the approval of this measure.