A legislative committee is Utah is taking what may be the first step towards banning cigarette smoking entirely. It wants to ban smoking in cars when young children are present.

Sure, folks who smoke in their car when there's someone around--especially kids--are at the least rude. But expect this to be a battering ram in an attempt to enter a new chapter on the "war on drugs."

Yes, "slippery slope" arguments, such as the one I'm putting forth here, are easily mocked. Then again, if you look at the history of the anti-smoking zealots, the incremental approach has been working just fine for them.