Guysborough RCMP have charged a man with smoking in his car -- because he had a kid as a passenger.

Nova Scotia’s Smoke-Free Places Act makes it illegal to smoke in a motor vehicle when someone under the age of 19 is present. The law also applies to smoking cigarettes, pipes, cannabis, and vaping, the RCMP said in a news release.

Police say an officer was doing routine traffic enforcement in Halfway Cove on June 30 when the Mountie noticed a speeding vehicle. The officer stopped the car and noticed the driver was smoking a cigar while he had a 13-year-old passenger with him.

Mounties say when the man was informed of this law, the driver “was belligerent, refused to put out his cigar, and continued to smoke.”

John Bernard Meagher of Guysborough has been charged under section 5(2)(A) of the Smoke-Free Places Act – and got a speeding ticket, too.

You can learn more about the Act at this website.