Rhodes Students Say: Kick it or Ticket

If there's anyone worth talking to about the dangers of secondhand smoke, it's the fifth (soon to be sixth) graders at .

Last week, they presented a clear-cut argument that adults should be prohibited from smoking in their cars while transporting children.

And it wasn't as if they provided a few anecdotal bits of evidence and called it a day. 

Instead, they presented a detailed action plan that calls for specific legislation endorsed by major health organizations, political groups and state and federal agencies to be enacted by the General Assembly. And it was all based on months of research including inviting guest speakers to come to their school to discuss the issue of second hand smoke and its effects on children.

Their work fell under the Project Citizen program — a civic education program run by Civic Ed Rhode Island that pushes children to participate in state and local government.

Participating classes choose a topic and team up to break it apart and study the nuances of the issue. They then must devise an action plan to find tangible solutions that they can spearhead as active American citizens.

In the issue of secondhand smoke in cars, the students sought a broad perspective, which shaped their views. They learned that the American Civil Liberties Union and the tobacco companies would probably oppose any legislation banning smoking in cars with children. Tobacco companies obviously stand to lose profits. The ACLU and others might argue that a motor vehicle is a private space and personal liberties are at risk of being violated. What's the difference between someone's house and car? 

And local police might be wary of another difficult-to-enforce law on the books since they're resource-limited and have lots of other pressing issues to deal with on a daily basis. 

But the health risks, some of which were discussed by state Department of Health Director Michael Fine during one of the guest speaker visits, were far too great for the class to ignore. 

That's why they settled on a plan that would ask lawmakers to make the act of smoking in a car with a child present illegal.

They reasoned that the average American only spends an hour-and-a-half in their car each day. That leaves 22-and-a-half hours to smoke. Smoking has been banned in the workplace and in restaurants and other states have taken similar steps, their action plan explained.

"The same protection should be given to an innocent child that is restrained in the back seat who is unable to choose for themselves," the plan states. 

Further, the plan notes that in the end, taxpayers are on the hook for much of the health care costs associated with secondhand smoke and the diseases and other problems it causes.

Project Citizen's State Coordinator, Michael A. Trofi, said he was very impressed by the students at Rhodes.

"They're always one of the best," he said, nothing he was particularly impressed with the depth of their research and thoughtful responses to his questions.

Fine said he was taken by the students' desire to study the issue seriously. When he came to the school as a guest speaker, he knew he had to be prepared.

"I ended up learning from them," Fine said. "I knew I had to come prepared because these kids know their stuff."

Also in attendance at the presentation were local lawmakers Rep. Arthur Handy and Sen. Joshua Miller.