AppId is over the quota
April 22, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Courts across the nation are increasingly factoring a parent's smoking habits into child timesharing (formerly "custody") decisions. A recent survey notes that parents who smoke tobacco products regularly are less likely to receive full or joint custody and may be required to agree to take steps to protect their children from exposure to second-hand smoke.
More than 46 million Americans smoke cigarettes, and one in five children are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke in the home. The dangers of secondhand smoke are well established; children exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to have poor lung function, stunted lung growth and to develop respiratory infections, asthma, ear infections and persistent cold-like symptoms. Infants are at higher risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) when around a smoker and they are more frequently hospitalized. Problems can linger into adulthood, increasing the risk of lung cancer and heart disease as well as the probability that the child will grow up to be a smoker him or herself.
While a parent's smoking hasn't previously been taken into account when making timesharing decisions, more and more state courts are acting on the volumes of research data available showing the acute dangers and the carcinogenic properties of secondhand smoke. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) -- an anti-tobacco group -- reports that courts in nearly half of the states have added parental smoking to the list of relevant factors in custody cases. ASH adds that no court has explicitly declined to consider it in these types of cases.
Courts in many states now weigh parental smoking alongside more traditional factors like income, housing situation, religious preferences and lifestyle when determining the timesharing arrangement that is in the best interests of the child. Some courts have prohibited or limited smoking in parental homes, vehicles and during timesharing. Some courts have modified existing timesharing orders to protect children from smoke exposure, even assigning custody to nonsmoking relatives instead of either parent. When children have preexisting conditions like asthma, courts are even more likely to consider parental smoking a deciding factor. Judges may be skeptical of a parent's claim that he or she will quit smoking, instead taking definitive action to protect the child's delicate lungs.
Many courts have found that constitutional protections for parental autonomy and privacy do not outweigh the state's duty to protect a child's health. Nonsmoking parents who bring a former spouse's smoking habits to the court's attention put the spouse at a disadvantage. While not all courts consider smoking a factor in timesharing decisions, a parent who is serious about getting or keeping substantial timesharing of their children should just quit smoking as soon as child custody becomes an issue. Other steps include limiting smoking to specific times and places even when a child is away.
Courts may not be able to force a parent to quit smoking, but they can limit the parental rights of a smoker in order to protect a child's health. If you or your former spouse are involved in a timesharing dispute where exposure to secondhand smoke is a factor, contact an experienced and Board-Certified family law attorney in your area as soon as possible to learn more about your legal rights and options.
Article provided by Curtis R. Cowan, P.A.
Visit us at www.curtcowanlaw.com
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