According to the state government in North Rhine-Westphalia, cars on German roads will in future remain smoke-free if minors or pregnant women are on board. The state parliament decided on Thursday a corresponding joint application of CDU, SPD, FDP and Greens.
The regulation should not be limited to the federal state, but apply throughout Germany. "Minors and pregnant women are to protect against the consequences of passive smoking, especially in the car," says the decision text. "The state government is therefore asked to submit a bill through the Federal Council, which prohibits and sanctions smoking in cars in the presence of minors or pregnant women."
Prohibition would be lawful
In addition to the German Medical Association, even the majority of smokers are in favor of banning and criminalizing smoking in cars when children are in the vehicle. Nevertheless, a corresponding regulation has so far mainly blocked by CDU politicians, even after a thrust of party colleague and drug commissioner Marlene Mortler 2015. The then acting Federal Ministry of Health under Hermann Gröhe (CDU) even claimed that such a law was possibly unconstitutional.
This contradicts with an assessment of the scientific service of the German Bundestag, which also refers to the NRW state government. Accordingly, a smoking ban in cars is constitutional, if minors are present. "The proportionality of such a ban is indisputable," it says in the application of the NRW government.
Auto smoking bans already exist in numerous countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, France, South Africa and Australia. Last Austria had prohibited smoking in the car when children are on board.
Passive smoking: More than 3300 deaths annually
In Germany, more than 3,300 non-smokers die every year from the consequences of secondhand smoke. Closed spaces make passive smoking particularly dangerous, especially for cars and their relatively small interiors. "According to measurements by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the pollutant concentration in a smoky car is five times higher than in an average smoked bar," states the NRW application.
Children are even more vulnerable than adults because the toxins are distributed to them at a lower body mass and their respiratory rate is higher. In addition, many organs and functions of the body are not yet fully developed, including the ability to detoxify pollutants. Proven consequences range from more common otitis media to lifelong lung damage and increased risk of cancer.
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Even unborn children already suffer from the smoke, as many of the toxins pass through the placenta and into their bloodstream, where they damage the development. After birth, the risk of sudden death also increases. According to DKFZ, passive smoking is the cause of sudden infant death syndrome in up to half of the cases.