The German government is considering banning smoking in cars in the presence of children or pregnant women, a move that has drawn criticism even within Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition. The announcement of this future ban, which should be included in a forthcoming bill to legalize cannabis, was made this Friday by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.
“Children and pregnant women need better protection in society,” the Social Democratic minister explained on Twitter.
“The ban on smoking in the car when traveling is a necessity. It should have been introduced earlier,” he said, stressing the risk of “irreversible damage” in case of passive smoking.
A “health madness”
But this measure does not convince the conservative opposition, not even the liberal FDP party, still a member of the ruling coalition.
“Karl Lauterbach can happily live out his health craze in private,” snapped Kristine Lütke, spokesperson for the FDP group in the Bundestag for public health issues. “Common sense already rules out smoking in the car with minors and pregnant women; there is no need for an additional ban.”
The CDU party, the main opponent of the government with the far-right formation AfD, points to a risk of incompatibility with the Constitution. “Such a ban would be difficult to apply in practice,” adds Tino Sorge, head of health issues within the Christian Democratic Party.
“Such a ban could not, or very little, be controlled,” adds the Association of German Motorists (Adac).
Doctors want to “ban smoking at home”
The Minister of Health, for her part, received the support of the German Cancer Research Center, recalling that according to 2018 data, around 800,000 minors are exposed to passive smoking in cars.
The Professional College of Physicians for Children and Adolescents wants to go further. It is “urgent to ban smoking at home,” a spokesman for the association told the newspaper. Image SATURDAY. “It is especially between the four walls of the house where children suffer the greatest damage from passive smoking.”
Source: BFM TV
