The issue of protecting children from secondhand smoke exposure is being raised more frequently in child custody cases. Courts in Ohio and elsewhere are increasingly issuing orders that prohibit parental smoking in the home when children are present.

Analysis
Additional Links
Cases

Analysis

The Duty to Protect Foster Children from Secondhand Smoke (PDF)

Secondhand Smoke in the Home: Children as the “Captive Smoker” (PDF) - fact sheet listing the dangers of smoking tobacco around children.

Child Custody and Smoking: Legal Issues (PDF) - fact sheet involving the child custody implications of smoking around children.

Secondhand Smoke and the Family Courts: The Role of Smoke Exposure in Custody and Visitation Decisions (PDF)

Additional links

Petition for Rulemaking for: Rules to Protect Foster Children from Tobacco Smoke Pollution—petition submitted to the Delaware Division of Family Services on behalf of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) to adopt rules and procedures similar to those in Maine that protect foster children from exposure to secondhand smoke.

Destroy the Myth and Protect Those Without a Voice: Urge Your State to Protect Foster Children from Tobacco Smoke (Action on Smoking and Health)

Cases

For examples of case law concerning child custody or foster care and secondhand smoke, please contact us, and we will search our archives to provide you specific examples.