This is Where Texas Stands on Smoking with Kids in the Car

(Longview, Texas) - Smoking can be a touchy subject for smokers and non-smokers alike. The non-smokers wish the sale of cigarettes, or even vapes, would go away. Smokers just want to enjoy them without having everyone around them complain.

There is a health hazard to smoking even if you enjoy doing it on a daily or social basis. Some lawmakers want to make it illegal to smoke with children close by or in a vehicle. Some states have passed these types of laws. So where is Texas in this group?

This is Where Texas Stands on Smoking with Kids in the Car

I quit smoking about seven years ago and it was one of the best decisions of my life both financially and health wise. It's crazy, but even now, I still have the urge to pick up a cigarette every once in a while. And no, I didn't pick up vaping, that's just trading one bad, and expensive, habit for another.

Let me lay down some truths for a bit. Yes, I did gain some weight. No, I haven't turned into one of those people that fake coughs when a smoker is close to me. Having said that, the smell of secondhand smoke has become a little unbearable over the last year or so.

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Has Texas Made it Illegal to Smoke with Kids in the Car?

Even when I smoked, I did not light up when there was a kid in the car. That's not right to subject them to that. There are nine states that took up that cause and passed legislation to make it a fineable offense if caught smoking with a minor in the vehicle with an adult:

• Arkansas
• California
• Louisiana
• Illinois
• Maine
• Oregon
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia

Texas isn't on this list? Nope. That's not to say that the Texas Legislature hasn't tried. In 2015, HB 461 was presented but never passed. It would have called for a fine of up to $500 for anyone caught smoking in their vehicle with a child who needed to be in a child safety seat.

This is Where Texas Stands on Smoking with Kids in the Car

No matter if it's a law in Texas or not, if you're a smoker and have kids, don't smoke in the car with them. You know how dangerous smoking is so don't pass that on to your little ones. Wait until you get home and enjoy one on the back porch.

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