Arkansas Actually Progressive?

Personally, I loathe smoking and smokers. There is nothing redeeming about the habit whatsoever. It stinks. The smoke hurts my eyes and damages my lungs. Smokers get ugly teeth. They get breaks during the day that I don't (which really pisses me off). It's just an all around terrible thing and I wish it could be done away with completely, especially because it has been proven how harmful second hand smoke really is to people that don't smoke, me being one of those people.

In an interesting development in state law, there has been a wonderful new statute put into place in, of all places, Arkansas. What this law does is makes it illegal for people to smoke in their cars if a child is present. This is one of the smartest things I've seen put into the law books in recent memory.

Why should kids get tortured and have years taken off of their lives because their parents want to make their own lives miserable and shorter? It's totally unfair, especially since the kids have no way to protect themselves from their parents' smoking habits.

I realize that the kids getting protected by this law are still more than likely inhaling lungs full of cancer causing agents at home, but at least this is a start. Who would have ever imagined that Arkansas would be this progressive? I guess it does help to remember that this bill was originally drafted as a joke, but still. I'm glad it passed and I can only hope other states follow suit.