- The West Virginia Senate on Monday passed a bill that would ban the smoking and possession of lighted tobacco products in vehicles carrying anyone under the age of 16.
- If passed, the proposal would be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $25, but it would only be punishable as a secondary crime.
- The bill passed the state Senate on a 25-8 vote, but now heads to the House of Delegates, where its fate is unclear.
Smoking in cars carrying children is banned in 11 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and lawmakers in West Virginia, where the most adults use cigarettes than any other state in the nation, are urging them to join in. There is.
The state Senate on Monday passed a bill that would impose fines for smoking or possessing lighted tobacco products in a vehicle with a passenger under the age of 16. The bill passed on a 25-8 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives, where similar bills have failed and face an uncertain future.
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Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, a doctor turned lawmaker, long ago promised his patient, whose father was a heavy smoker, would work to ban smoking in cars with children in West Virginia. Takubo has worked to introduce the bill almost every year since 2017, but it has failed to gain momentum.
West Virginia Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo (R) is seen at the state Capitol on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 in Charleston, West Virginia. (AP Photo/John Lavie, File)
The Kanawha County Republican and lung doctor said the bill was inspired by a patient who was not a smoker but had lost half of his lung function. When his father smoked, Takubo said, “he had to get to the bottom of the car and stick his head under the seat.”
Violators face a misdemeanor charge and a fine of up to $25. But that would be a secondary crime. Smoking in the presence of children cannot be a primary reason for a driver to be pulled over.
Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood County, said the state has no right to infringe on a parent’s freedom.
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“The debate over this bill is inherently an emotional debate,” Azinger said. “This violates the fundamental rights of parents who make the decision to put their children in cars. This is a situation in which the state cannot do anything about it.”
