x
Breaking News
More () »

VERIFY: Is there a law against smoking with children in the car?

A recent article making the rounds on social media claims a federal ban on smoking in cars while children are present is illegal effective Jan. 30.
photo from Thinkstock Images

SPOKANE, Wash. – A recent article from Lovethispic.com making the rounds on social media claims smoking in cars with children present is illegal effective Jan. 30.

The article goes on to say that a federal ban is in place, citing an article from Yahoo Lifestyle.

To fact check this claim, KREM 2 turned to the Yahoo article, the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, a Surgeon General’s report from the Centers for Disease Control and the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD).

If you were to click on the Yahoo article, you would see it is actually referring to a specific bill passed by Alabama’s House of Representatives.

While there are individual states and cities across the country that have banned smoking in cars with children, a national law does not exist, and Washington and Idaho are not among the states that have adopted bans.

The SRHD said it has not initiated anything related to smoking in cars with children. However, bills have been in front of the Washington state legislature in the past.

In 2006, a Surgeon General’s report found there is “no safe level of secondhand smoke.”

While medical professionals have determined smoking in a car with a child present is harmful, the claims that Inland Northwest states have banned the practice are myths.

Before You Leave, Check This Out