Next fight at the traffic light?
Smoking ban in the car: FDP shoots against Lauterbach
07/08/2023 2:29 p.m
Health Minister Lauterbach wants to protect pregnant women and minors from passive smoking in the car. The Union is against it, the FDP as well. The traffic light partner accuses the SPD man of a “health obsession”. The attitude of physicians is just as clear – but with the opposite tenor.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach sees himself exposed to harsh criticism from the Union and the coalition partner FDP for a planned smoking ban when driving with minors and pregnant women. The minister wants to patronize responsible citizens, said the addiction and drug policy spokeswoman for the FDP parliamentary group, Kristine Lütke, the editorial network Germany (RND).
Lauterbach is apparently aiming for a completely smoke-free and alcohol-free society. “Karl Lauterbach is happy to live out his obsession with health in private,” said the FDP politician. “Not smoking in the car with minors and pregnant women is already ruled out by common sense – there is no need for an additional ban here.”
The health policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Tino Sorge, told the RND newspapers that the federal states had already introduced a corresponding bill to the Bundesrat in 2022. At that time, the federal government had still expressed constitutional concerns. “It is questionable whether they have been cleared up to date,” said Sorge.
The ADAC also questioned the feasibility of such a smoking ban. “We are also critical of a legal regulation because such a ban could not or hardly be controlled,” said a spokesman for the RND.
Doctors: “This ban is overdue”
Lauterbach received encouragement from the German Cancer Research Center: It pointed out that, according to the latest figures from 2018, around 800,000 minors are exposed to passive smoking in cars. “Therefore, the planned changes to the Federal Non-Smoking Protection Act and the Workplace Ordinance are to be rated as positive,” said a spokesman for the RND.
The German Medical Association also approved the plans. “This ban is overdue because passive smoking is extremely harmful to health. This applies in particular to unborn children, children and young people,” said a spokesman for RND. “Actually, it should go without saying not to smoke in their presence. If there is a lack of reason and a sense of responsibility, the state must intervene.”
The professional association of paediatricians goes even further. “The smoking ban at home is urgently needed,” said an association spokesman for the “Bild” newspaper. “Particularly in their own four walls, children take the greatest damage from passive smoking.”
The health policy spokesman for the Greens, Janosch Dahmen, was open to the proposal. “I also think that we have to do more to protect children and pregnant women from cigarette smoke,” he told “Bild”. This applies in particular to protection against cigarette smoke in closed rooms.
The chairwoman of the Non-Smoking Action Alliance, Ulrike Helbig, even thinks of a smoking ban if there are only adults in the apartment: “The ban makes sense in private households, for families, but also for couples.” Members of the action alliance include the German Medical Association and the German Cancer Aid.