NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee - Doctors Want Smoking Ban If Kids Are In Car

Doctors Want Smoking Ban If Kids Are In Car

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee doctors want state lawmakers to make it illegal for drivers to smoke while young children are in the car.

The Tennessee Medical Association wants a $25 fine in place for drivers smoking with children 9 years old or younger in the car regardless of whether the windows are down. So far, legislators and other organizations dedicated to secondhand smoke prevention have declined to support the idea. The fine would be only enforced during a traffic stop for another violation.

"Unfortunately sometimes commonsense doesn't always hold true this in situations," said Russ Miller, spokesman for the Tennessee Medical Association. "It doesn't make sense to us that you remember to strap your child in their child restraint but then again subject them to harmful levels of secondhand smoke."

The association said fining drivers who smoke with children in the car is another logical step to better health. 

The Tennessee Medical Association is hopeful a lawmaker will take up this cause and help them pass this proposal. 

Last year, state Sen. Tim Burchett, a Republican from Knoxville, introduced the legislation, but it died quickly in committee. He hopes to reintroduce it during the next legislative session, which begins Tuesday. 

Several states have passed similar legislation including Louisiana and Arkansas.