Clearing the air: should cigarettes take a hike?

Justin Kvadas, 10, is on a mission to protect kids from cigarette smoke. He is especially worried about kids who ride in cars with smokers.

"If you can't eat, drink, or talk on the cell phone while driving a vehicle, how come you can still smoke?" says Justin of East Hartford, Connecticut.

With the help of his mother, Justin e-mailed his State Representative, Henry Genga, asking for a ban on smoking in cars with children. Justin also collected 200 signatures on a petition. He even got East Hartford's Mayor to sign!

Now, there is a bill before the Connecticut Legislature. If passed, it would prevent adults from smoking in a vehicle when kids under 7--or less than 60 pounds--are passengers.

Support for such bans is growing. Last month, Bangor, Maine, became the first city in the nation to pass a law banning adults from smoking in vehicles with kids. Two states, Louisiana and Arkansas, have passed similar laws, and other states are considering them. However, some people disagree with such laws, saying that it is their right to smoke on their own property.

Justin says that he supports the laws because they protect children from the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. According to a government report last year, secondhand smoke is especially dangerous to infants and young children.

"I'm ... a voice for the babies and young children," says Justin.