"Every smoker — and I mean every smoker — I know never smokes in a car with the windows rolled up," he said. "The windows are down and the car is moving. Even smokers hate the smell of secondhand smoke, believe it or not. That's why they hold the cigarette outside the car at stoplights."

He stressed that no one he knows who smokes ever does so with kids in the car. "They don't want to subject their kids to that. Smokers aren't as stupid as a lot of nonsmokers like to think."

And many people do say they wait until they're outside to smoke if they have children in the car, said Lena Dibble, program marketing coordinator with the Utah Tobacco Prevention and Control Program.

According to an annual tobacco-use report released by the state two weeks ago, 33 apartment/condominium developments, 20 businesses and 21 parks and outdoor sports venues in the state became smoke-free in the past year.

If the proposed bill is approved by legislators, smokers violating the ban could be fined $45. The fine would be waived if the person can prove enrollment in a smoking-cessation class. Smoking in a car with minors would not be a primary cause for police to stop a motorist.

---

E-mail: jthalman@desnews.com