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Utahns may not be able to light up cigarettes in their cars if small children are along for the ride.
Concerned about the health effects of secondhand smoke, Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, pitched a bill Monday that would make it an infraction to smoke in a car if a child 5 years old or younger is strapped in, or is required to be strapped in, a car seat.
The fine for violating the law: up to $45, unless a person proves to the court that he or she has enrolled in a smoking cessation course.
The legislation, which cruised unopposed through the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, is one of several similar bills that will be introduced in other states in coming weeks, said Beverly May, director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids' western region.
Arkansas and Louisiana have already cracked down on smoking in cars with children, while other states such as New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Washington, California and Montana are now contemplating it.
McCoy said secondhand smoke in cars is a child-welfare issue.
"Think about the space of a car," he said. "It's the smallest confined space that anyone chooses to smoke in, and so when you put a child in that situation - literally lock them into that situation in a car seat and then start smoking - it exposes them to high levels of secondhand smoke, which is very, very serious for your health."
Children who inhale secondhand smoke are at increased risk for complications ranging from sudden infant death syndrome to acute respiratory infections, ear problems, severe asthma and delayed lung development, according to a 2006 report by the U.S. Surgeon General.
Yet many children, McCoy said, "can't say, 'Mom or Dad, or Uncle Joe, I don't want to go in the car with you while you're smoking.' "
The age of the children in the bill is tied to Utah's car seat laws, but McCoy said he would be open to including older children.
"Maybe it should be [those younger] than 105," quipped Sen. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley City.
Kelly Atkinson, a spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police, said officers would only be able to ticket a person for the infraction if they were already pulled over for another reason.
The law, he testified Monday, would be a "nice reminder to parents of the well-known health consequences" of secondhand smoke.
Senate Bill 43 now goes to the Senate for a full vote.
SB43
Would make it illegal to smoke in a car with a small child in it.
Next step: Moves to the full Senate