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Friday, February 7, 2025

No smoking outside? The EC submitted an application. Health ministers have decided

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EU health ministers voted on Tuesday (03/12/2024) by a majority in favor conclusion The European Commission recommended the introduction of a smoking ban squares playgrounds, bus stops and outdoor catering outlets. Position Brussels however, it is not binding.

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“Rules too undifferentiated”

Secretary of State at the German Ministry of Health, Thomas Steffen, pointed out in Brussels that individual states are responsible for smoking bans in Germany; for example, Baden-Württemberg has different rules than North Rhine-Westphalia. German states criticized the adopted recommendation as “too undifferentiated”. “In particular, the extension of the smoking ban outside catering establishments was rejected,” admitted Thomas Steffen.

According to the European Commission, further smoking bans would protect non-smokers in particular from harmful cigarette smoke. – Passive smoking has a clearly negative impact on health – she explained new EU Vice-President Teresa Ribera after the decision was taken on Tuesday.

Equating e-cigarettes with traditional cigarettes

A majority of EU health ministers also supported the equalization of e-cigarettes with traditional cigarettes. Member States should therefore also consider severely restricting the smoking of electronic vaporizers as “these increasingly target very young users.”

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The declared goal of the European Commission is to reduce the percentage of smokers in the population to below five percent by 2040. However, smoking bans remain the responsibility of national governments, so the Brussels recommendation will not directly lead to bans in the 27 Member States.

(AFP/how)

The article comes from the Deutsche Welle website



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