SALEM -- Oregon senators approved a bill Wednesday that would ban smoking in a car when anyone under 18 is present.

, sponsored

and led it to a vote. While no organized group lobbied against the bill, it drew criticism from Senate Republicans who saw it as an example of “nanny state” regulation.

But Steiner Hayward, a physician, said the bill was about child safety. Second hand smoke swells in the rear seat of cars while drivers puff -- right where kids sit. That argument found favor with the chamber, which backed the measure 19-10.

Now the bill heads to the House,

. The bill is unlikely to come to a vote quickly, but its chances in the House seem as good or better today as they did then.

, who voted against the 2009 ban, urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass Steiner Hayward's bill in February.

"We almost universally recognize the danger of second-hand smoke," Thompson wrote. "Why is it that we can continue to subject young children, who have no means of escape, to concentrated smoke?"

If the bill becomes law, cops couldn't pull over drivers for smoking, but could cite them if they were stopped for other traffic infractions and caught puffing with anyone under 18 in the car. The penalty would be a fine up to $250 for the first offense and $500 after that.

The bill isn't limited to tobacco, so smoking marijuana or cloves would be out, too.

, said he worried about government restrictions on personal freedom.

“Nanny state bills are a real problem in this building,” Girod said. But in the end, he voted yes, arguing that kids have no choice over whether their parents light up.

But the argument didn’t sway

. He said the bill went too far.

“How dare the government tell me what I can do in my car,” said Kruse.

, said he was torn, but eventually decided to vote no. He worried passage of this bill would mark the beginning of a chain of regulations targeting behavior.

“What about the Super Big Gulp? What about the trips through the McDonald’s drive through?” Starr asked.

Steiner Hayward said she didn’t foresee the Oregon Legislature going down that road.

“There is a safe level of fast food,” Steiner Hayward said. “There is no safe level of second hand smoke.”