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• Hospitals crack down on smoking inside cars  

Some hospitals have banned smoking inside a person's own vehicle if it's on hospital property, a step viewed as logical by the anti-smoking movement but repugnant to its critics.

'Many of us see this as the beginning -- and easiest part -- of a growing encroachment of government into people's private lives,' said George Koodray, New Jersey coordinator for the Citizens Freedom Alliance.

While a handful of states ban smoking in cars if there are minors inside, the move by hospitals to prohibit any puffs behind the wheel represents new territory for those seeking a smoke-free environment. . . .

No exact count is kept on which hospitals extend the ban to inside a car or truck, but an Associated Press check of hospitals in Alabama and elsewhere found that a number do.

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