A state senator from South Florida wants to make it against the law for drivers to smoke in a car with a child under the age of 13.

While the new bill proposed by Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, has already gained support, it is receiving some mixed reviews from Floridians.

As parents wait outside for the school dismissal bell, kids walk to the car to be strapped in and buckled up for their safety and protection. But even after those precautions, one danger that could be putting children's health at risk is a cigarette. That's why the new bill (SB 548) aims to prohibit "a person from smoking a tobacco product in a motor vehicle in which a child under 13 years of age is present."

"I think it should already be illegal," said Orlando mom Heidi Battaglia. "Anything regarding kids' health like that should already be illegal."

"While I'm in favor of restricting it, I think we also need to be careful and not let the government overreach where they're going," mom Erika Grabish said.

It wouldn't be the first time a law like this was passed in the United States. Seven other states and Puerto Rico enforce a ban on smoking with a child in the car. The only difference comes down to the age that is enforced.

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STATE MINIMUM AGE *
Arkansas 6
California 18
Louisiana 13
Maine 16
Oregon 18
Puerto Rico 18
Utah 15
Vermont 8

* Smoking banned in motor vehicles while children under the listed age are present.

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Now, Florida may be next, if Clemens' bill becomes a state law. The concern for children's health has already given the bill a supporting majority in the Senate, and it will next go forth to a Senate subcommittee for another vote.

"Children really don't have control over their indoor environment, and that's something we really have to be careful about with secondhand smoke," said Janelle Middents, with the American Lung Association of Central Florida. "Smoking in the car, or smoking at home, is really increasing that exposure. Everything from lower respiratory infections can be a lot more common — things like pneumonia and bronchitis — also a higher occurrence of inner ear infections."

"I grew up with all that," Battaglia added. "My parents smoked in the car with me, and I didn't like it."

"When it comes to protecting our children, it's hard to think that we're going too far," Grabish said.

If the bill passes, the smoking ban in vehicles in Florida while children under 13 are present would go into effect Oct. 1.