Should Smoking With Kids in The Car Be Illegal? [POLL]

By Jeff Deminski

A Bergen County woman was arrested for drunk driving with an 8 year old girl in the backseat. Among other charges she's facing endangering the welfare of a child. This is something everyone agrees is outrageous, inexcusable behavior. The immediate short term risk to the child is lost on no one.

What about other behaviors and long term risks? What about smoking with your kids in the car? It got me wondering if anyone has offered legislation to make such a thing illegal. Turns out, yes, but the current bill didn't get past committee. You can read the text of the legislation here.

The Center for Disease Control and many leading authorities agree. There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. It leads to numerous health problems in children including severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections, etc. Secondhand smoke causes an estimated 46,000 premature deaths from heart disease each year in the United States. Secondhand smoke causes an estimated 3,400 lung cancer deaths each year.

How do you feel about this? Take our poll and share your thoughts in the comment section below.