Overview

• North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony have resubmitted an unchanged amendment to the Federal Non-Smoker Protection Act to prohibit smoking in vehicles when minors or pregnant people are present.
• The proposal is scheduled for the Bundesrat on 26 September and would proceed to the Bundestag for debate if the chamber backs it.
• The draft cites German Cancer Research Center estimates that about one million minors are exposed to tobacco smoke in cars and notes that a single cigarette can drive cabin concentrations far above those in heavily smoked pubs.
• NRW health minister Karl-Josef Laumann called smoking in cars with children or pregnant passengers irresponsible, pointing to risks including lung damage, higher cancer risk and growth disorders.
• The police union questions how effectively a ban could be enforced without more officers, and the draft foresees fines ranging from €500 to €3,000; there is currently no general law in Germany that bans smoking in private cars.