CHARLESTON, WV – March 22, 2024 – It is now illegal to smoke in motor vehicles in West Virginia with children present. On March 22nd, West Virginia became the 12th state to protect children in motor vehicles from the harms of secondhand smoke. According to the law, persons 16 and under cannot be exposed to a lit tobacco product or someone smoking. Smoking with children present cannot be the main reason that a driver is pulled over. However, lawbreakers can be fined up to $25 if they are stopped for another offense. The other 11 states that prohibit smoking in motor vehicles with children present are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. The age limits vary according to state. North Carolina does not prohibit smoking in motor vehicles with children present.
According to the CDC, exposure to secondhand smoke from burning tobacco products (like cigarettes, cigars, and pipes) can cause nonsmokers to develop illnesses associated with smoking and these can contribute to premature death. Exposure to secondhand smoke occurs when people breathe in smoke from burning tobacco products or from people who exhale while smoking. Any level of exposure can be harmful.
Tobacco smoke contains hundreds of harmful chemicals including about 70 that can cause cancer. Heart disease, stroke, lung disease and reproductive health problems (like low-birth-weight newborns) have been associated with exposure to secondhand smoke. Children are impacted more than adults, including sudden infant death syndrome, lung infections, asthma, and ear infections.
Smoking is prohibited in many indoor spaces, like work, public places, restaurants and bars, in order to protect people from secondhand smoke exposure. According to the CDC, between 2-3 million nonsmokers died from health problems that were caused by exposure to secondhand smoke since 1964. Protecting defenseless children from the harms of secondhand smoke is a good public health policy.
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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, healthyasheville@ashevillefm.org