Smoking inside a car could cost you up you $3,200 in this country: Details here

Smoking is an unhealthy habit and doing that inside the cabin of a car, which is a confined place can be even more injurious to health. To stop smoking inside a car, a German council has initiated an amendment to the Federal Non-Smoking Protection Act, which would prevent drivers from smoking in their cars in presence of pregnant women or minors. Breaking the rule will cost the driver a fine of up to $3,300, reports German publication 24auto.

The council has justified the ban by saying that the passengers are not able to voluntarily escape the smoke. Opening a window or sunroof is not enough. The only way to get away with it is to have a completely open-top vehicle, which is not possible always.

While this ban will be applicable to drivers with passengers like pregnant women or minors, it won't be applicable for someone who will be driving alone. The drafted law will be passed on to the German Federal Parliament, which will decide whether or not to take up the proposal.

Germany already tried to ban smoking in vehicles back in 2019 but was unsuccessful. Now, with the latest move, Germany aims to successfully implement the rule. With this, it would join the countries such as the UK, which banned smoking in vehicles under similar circumstances in 2015.

According to the German Cancer Research Center (dkfz), the concentration of cigarette smoke in a vehicle's cabin is up to five times higher than in the average place with cigarette smoke. The Dkfz also revealed that more than one million minors in Germany are currently exposed to tobacco smoke in cars. The new drafted rule aims to address that concern.