Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has announced that the German government will ban smoking in cars when children or pregnant people are present in the vehicle.
Smoking behind the wheel when vulnerable parties, such as minors or pregnant people are on board, is set to be banned in Germany.
The ban has been in the works since April 2022 and will be introduced alongside the new bill on cannabis legalisation in Germany, which will amend the Non-Smoker Protection Act accordingly and will likely be implemented later this year. Until now, smoking legislation has not been applied to cars, which are considered private spaces under German law.
With the new rules, which will apply to traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and cannabis, lawmakers hope to protect minors and pregnant people from inhaling passive smoke.
According to the Health Ministry, risks commonly associated with smokers can be passed on to those exposed to passive smoke when this exposure is regularly happening in an enclosed space such as a car.
Smoking in a car increases the likelihood of passive inhalers developing lung cancer, coronary heart disease and strokes. Inhaling passive smoke also increases the chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDs).
Thumb image credit: New Africa / Shutterstock.com