I was sitting at a stop light last week taking in the scenery when I looked in my rearview mirror and noticed that the driver was smoking. A smaller person, possibly a child, was sitting in the passenger seat.
If a child was riding shotgun with the smoker, that driver was violating a law that went into effect back in 2008.
The law makes it an infraction for a person to smoke a cigarette, pipe or cigar in a motor vehicle any time children are along for the ride.
The fine for violating
Health and Safety code section 118948 can be no larger than $100.
Below are the health effects of secondhand cigarette smoke on children from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Ear infections
- More frequent and severe asthma attacks
- Respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath
- Respiratory infections
- A greater risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
The CDC also reported that secondhand smoke exposure is behind an estimated 150,000-300,000 new bronchitis and pneumonia cases annually in American children aged 18 months and under.
