BANGOR (AP) – A group of local public health advocates is proposing that Bangor become the first place in Maine to outlaw smoking in cars when a child is present.

The group has written a proposed ordinance that would impose a $50 fine on anybody who lights up in a motor vehicle carrying anyone younger than 18.

Jonathan Shenkin, a pediatric dentist and child health advocate, said the proposal will be presented to the Bangor City Council’s Government Operations Committee on Nov. 28. If the committee agrees the plan has merit, public hearings will be scheduled before the entire council.

Shenkin has been working for months with doctors, public health groups and police to develop an effective and enforceable ordinance to discourage adults from smoking in their vehicles when children are present.

He said he was dismayed by a recent report from the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General that showed exposure to secondhand smoke remains high despite a drop in smoking rates nationally. Children, he said, are seldom able to avoid riding with adults or older teens who smoke.

“So all our efforts to ban smoking in bars or in the workplace are not benefiting our children,” he said. “We’ve failed our children.”

As drafted, the ordinance would prohibit anyone from lighting up cigarettes, pipes or cigars in any motor vehicle when any person under age 18 is present. The violation would be a secondary offense, meaning people could get tickets only if the vehicle is stopped for some other reason, such as speeding.

Similar measures recently have been adopted in at least two other states, Shenkin said, and are under consideration in locales. In Maine, current law already prohibits foster parents from smoking in their cars or in their homes when foster children are present.

Geoff Gratwick, a physician who serves on the Bangor City Council, said he will sponsor the proposal. The ban, he said, would fill an “unmet need to protect a vulnerable group of people – that is, our children, who can’t say no.”

Gratwick said the ordinance should not be perceived as intrusive or heavy-handed, but rather as an opportunity to raise awareness about the consequences of secondhand smoke.

“If you love your children, this is something you should learn not to do,” he said.

Peter Arno, deputy chief of the Bangor Police Department, said the ordinance could be enforced in much the same way as the state law requiring seat belts to be worn.

“This would not create a lot of added work for police,” he said. “It’s a situation they would run into in the course of their day-to-day activities.”

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