Bill Would Ban Smoking While Driving With Children Aboard

Democratic State Sen. Charleta Tavares spoke in favor of a bill on Wednesday that would ban smoking while driving when children are in the car.

Tavares said that she proposed Senate Bill 27 to protect the health of children.

S.B. 27 would ban people from smoking in vehicles with passengers under the age of 6, 10TV’s Danielle Elias reported.

“It’s about the health and welfare of children and ensuring that we’re protecting their health,” Tavares said.

Tavares spoke to the Highway and Transportation Committee on Wednesday.

Republican Sen. Tom Patton said that he questioned why the bill limits the age to 6.

“The difficulty in being able to determine whether a child is 6 verses 7 or 9,” Patton said. “And how often do people get pulled over? And would they have to provide birth certificates or poof that a child is over 6?”

Republican Sen. Frank LaRose said that he also had questions.

“A car represents freedom, and what I do in my car is my own freedom,” LaRose said. “But I think there’s also a really important point to make in that your freedom to act ends when it impacts another’s health, particularly an innocent young child.”

Tavares said that the bill does not target smoking in general but about smoking in confined spaces like cars, where others could be affected, Elias reported.

Christina Greenlee, a mother of four and a smoker, said that she already enforces a no-smoking policy in her car.

“I choose not to smoke in front of them because of their health,” Greenlee said. “They say second-hand smoke is the worst thing.”

Other states, such as Louisiana, Arkansas, Maine and California, have restrictions on smoking while children are in the car.

The Louisiana ban applies to children under 13, Arkansas’ ban applies to those under 14, Main’s applies to those under 16 and California’s ban applies to those under 18.

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