A Virginia Senate panel yesterday approved a bill that would make it a punishable offense to smoke a cigarette in a car when a kid under the age of 15 is present, writes the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Senate Bill 975, sponsored by Sen. Ralph S. Northam, D-Norfolk, would allow police officers to stop and ticket smokers who light up when children younger than 15 are in the vehicle. The violation would result in a $100 fine.

To Northam, a physician who sponsored successful legislation several years ago to ban smoking in restaurants, it’s a public health issue.

“We know secondhand smoke is more dangerous than primary smoke,” he said, pointing to evidence that it contributes to asthma, bronchitis and ear infections among children. “This is a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

The bill now moves to the full Senate, and if it is approved there, to the House, where it faces slimmer chances. Northam has been pushing such a proposal since at least 2009, but it has never made it through the full legislature. A similar bill was briefly considered in Maryland last year.