A bill in the Ohio Senate would ban smoking in cars if children under 6 are on board.
The measure's sponsor said the idea is to safeguard youngsters from secondhand smoke. Ohio Sen. Charleta Tavares, D-Columbus, testified Wednesday at a hearing on her bill and said smoke inside cars is especially dangerous because the space makes the smoke much more concentrated.
Statistics show that children whose parents smoke are twice as likely to become smokers themselves.
"Kids will see that it's not a good idea and maybe they'll pick up and say, 'You know, smoking isn't good for me' and they won't do it," said Emily Hanna of Poland.
"I never smoked in the car with my children," said former smoker Joe Englander.
He said his kids are the reason he quit.
"I don't think it's an infraction on anybody's civil rights or personal choice, I think it's more a matter of child protection and their rights," Englander said.
Multiple news outlets report that Senate Highways and Transportation Committee Chairman Tom Patton questioned how law enforcers would be able to spot that a child is younger than 6, in order to enforce the law.
Another Republican, Sen. Frank LaRose, warned that critics are likely to say the proposal infringes on personal freedom.
Some of our local legislators agree.
"I think it's going to be very, very difficult to enforce," said Ohio Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-Canfield.
Schiavoni is a member of the transportation committee, the same group that also is examining a bill that would ban texting while driving.
He said the potential smoking ban for drivers with kids in the car is just in the infancy stages.
"I think people are going to have more of a problem with it than texting while driving," Schiavoni said.
Tavares said several other states have similar car smoking bans.
The next step will be to put it before a panel of both proponents and opponents to ask questions.
Either way, those we spoke to are for the idea, even if it's not law.
"If you have to have a cigarette in a short period of time, that you're in a car with your children, you have a problem that you need to deal with," Englander said.
