Germany wants to ban smoking in cars with children

The German Ministry of Health plans to ban smoking in cars with children or pregnant women as passengers.

This is reported by the dpa agency, which has familiarized itself with the relevant draft law.

According to the bill, the smoking ban, which is already in effect in public transport, should also be introduced in the future in closed vehicles in the presence of minors or pregnant women.

It is noted that the bill by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach still needs to be coordinated with other ministries before it is submitted to the government.

Since 2019, several federal states have taken initiatives to ban the practice, with fines of up to three thousand euros. In March 2022, the upper house of the German parliament, the Bundesrat, decided to submit a bill to the lower house, the Bundestag.

Citing data from the German Cancer Research Center, the Lower Saxony government justified the bill by saying that the concentration of tobacco in cars can be five times higher than in a regular smoky pub.

Author - Olena Madiak, 07/07/2023