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CIGARETTE SMOKING AND CHILD CUSTODY

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Cigarette smoking does not affect custody if the parent makes the attempt to smoke outside of the presence of the child. In the recent case of Tidmore v. Tidmore, No. 2012–CA–00167–COA (5/14/13), the Court stated:
“We note that Nicole also smokes cigarettes, but not in the presence of the children. This Court has held that a parent’s smoking outside the presence of children with allergies does not weigh against that parent under this Albright factor. See Owens v. Owens, 950 So. 2d 202, 208 (¶18) (Miss. Ct. App. 2006) (holding that the “chancellor properly found that this factor does not weigh against [the smoking parent] because the evidence strongly indicates that [he] has made great effort to avoid smoking around [the child]”). Conversely, we have held that a parent’s smoking in the presence of the children weighs against that parent. See Davis v. Stevens, 85 So. 3d 943, 950 (¶29) (Miss. Ct. App. 2012). ¶22. As to the age of the children, the twins were six years of age at the time of trial. Of course, the age of a child is “but one factor out of many to be considered in a child custody case.” Id. at 949 (¶28) (quoting Gutierrez v. Bucci, 827 So. 2d 27, 31 (¶17) (Miss. Ct. App. 2002))”
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