Prohibiting cigarettes in the car in the presence of children or pregnant women: this is the will of the German Minister of Health, who has tabled a bill to this effect. But the measure arouses criticism, even in the camp of the chancellor.
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For the Minister of Health, the measure should have been taken much earlier: prohibit the consumption of cigarettes in the car when the driver is transporting children or pregnant women. In the passenger compartment of a vehicle, the concentration of tobacco can be 5 times higher than in a smoky room.
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Supporters of the ban point to risks of respiratory disease for children as well as stunted growth in newborns whose mothers were exposed to passive smoking during pregnancy. For several years, some regions have already tried to impose the ban with fines of 3,000 euros for violations.
An association of doctors wants to ban smoking at home
But part of the political class is not convinced. For the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the coalition, the ban is unnecessary, because common sense already rules out smoking in cars in the presence of children or pregnant women. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the main opposition party, believes that the ban, in addition to being difficult to control, risks being declared unconstitutional because it intrudes on the private sphere.
The Minister of Health received the support of the cancer research center, which recalls that each year a million minors are exposed to smoking in cars. The professional association of doctors for children and adolescents would like to go even further and ban smoking at home.