Children are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke when parents or other adults smoke in vehicles – a dangerous practice that officials warn can lead to both short- and long-term health risks to young passengers. Despite evidence of "high concentrations of secondhand smoke" in vehicles, many smokers still light up on the road. And research has found that a majority of smoking parents do so when their kids are with them.
states and the District of Columbia have laws prohibiting smoking in some or all workplace vehicles. Thirteen of these states ban smoking in vehicles used to transport children while in the care of home-based or commercial childcare facilities, the CDC says. Another 21 U.S. states have no restrictions at all on smoking in vehicles, according to the CDC’s tally.