24.07.2024 Baden-Württemberg is to get a new state non-smoker protection law. The Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Integration is conducting a dialogue-based public participation process. On Monday, 22 July, associations, including Pro Rauchfrei, were invited to submit relevant topics for discussion at a citizens’ forum in Stuttgart. Online participation for everyone from Friday, 29.07., to Friday, 16.08.!
9.30 a.m. at the Ministry of Social Affairs in Stuttgart: 18 participants and a journalist gather under the moderation of a head of department from the ministry and the head of the Citizen Participation Service Centre to determine the aspects they consider important, which are to be discussed later by randomly selected citizens. Authorities, local authority associations, the parliamentary groups in the Landtag, the DKFZ, healthcare associations and other organisations, including the tobacco lobby, were invited to this meeting. Pro Rauchfrei was the only non-smoker protection organisation present.
The Baden-Württemberg coalition agreement between the Greens and the CDU includes the promise to extend the protection of non-smokers and to scrutinise previous exemptions. This is now to be done with the participation of citizens. The process includes the above mentioned participation scoping, a citizens’ forum and a hearing of associations. The preparatory meeting with stakeholders to determine the topics is known as participation scoping.
Those invited had received a so-called topic map in advance, i.e. an initial collection of topics from the ministry, with the request to add to it according to their own interests. We complied with this request and accordingly presented the points that we consider essential for an amendment at the meeting. These included
- the obligations under international law that Germany has entered into, inter alia the ratification of the Framework Convention of the World Health Organisation (FCTC-WHO)
- the inclusion of the freedom rights of non-smokers as a counterpoint to the freedom rights of smokers postulated in the draft
- the need to finally eliminate the exceptions to non-smoker protection in accordance with Section 5 ArbStättV and to make all workplaces smoke-free
- the obligation to protect vulnerable groups such as asthmatics, allergy sufferers or others
- the same non-smoker protection regulations for tobacco products, e-cigarettes, tobacco heaters and cannabis
- in addition to existing areas of application such as outdoor catering, parks, train platforms, etc., the following areas are also covered: bus stops, sports stadiums, pedestrian zones, entrance areas, shopping centres and their walkways, passageways, playgrounds, youth centres, social facilities, prisons and more. The Ministry of Social Affairs has had our draft for a state no-smoking protection law since April.
- Furthermore, proposals for an effective enforcement strategy, including by mobilisation and involvement of society
In addition to other objectively justified proposals, for example from the DKFZ, there were also objections that the existing law had proved its worth and therefore no amendment was necessary. However, this is by no means the case in Baden-Württemberg, where there is not even a ban on minors entering smoking areas in restaurants! This was already shown in 2014 by the evaluation of the LNRSchG commissioned by former Social Affairs Minister Katrin Altpeter, which was hidden away in a drawer until we published the results leaked to us. Special treatment of e-cigarettes or tobacco heaters is also not appropriate, as industry associations are demanding, because the emissions from these devices also contain carcinogenic pollutants and there is no safety threshold below which passive consumption would be harmless.
What happens next?
From Friday 26 July, the public will be able to contribute their views on non-smoker protection in an online consultation at https://beteiligungsportal.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/mitmachen/lp-17/landesnichtraucherschutzgesetz. Together with the results of the above-mentioned citizens’ forum and an official hearing of associations, a citizens’ report will be drawn up, supplemented by amendments from the Ministry of Social Affairs and then submitted to the departmental vote. At the end, a draft bill will be submitted to the state parliament.
We will keep all interested parties up to date on the progress of the process and our submissions.