OLR Report 2013-R-0078 summarizes the effectiveness of a Maine law that bans smoking in cars carrying minor passengers.
The law, which took effect in 2008, prohibits a driver or passenger in a motor vehicle from smoking when a child age 15 or younger is present. Violators are subject to a $50 fine or a written warning. According to the Maine Judicial Branch, police cited nine people for violating this law in 2011 and 12 in 2012.
A study of the law conducted for a 2011 master's thesis found a 44% decrease in the prevalence of smoking in a car in which a child was present between the time the law took effect and the fall of 2010.
For more information, read the full report.
