OPINION: Why can't Germany cut out its smoking habit?

One of my biggest culture shocks as a Californian in Germany has been the ubiquity of smoking: not just inside musky-scented Kneipen (pubs) or from people puffing away on their private balconies, but - well - everywhere. 

Even though technically forbidden by law in certain places, I’ve frequently spotted people taking a drag inside S-Bahn stations, at the perimeter of playgrounds and even once inside the cancer ward of a hospital when bringing flowers to a friend there. 

So it came as little surprise to me when the World Health Organisation (WHO) slammed Germany this week for not doing enough to prevent smoking, both in public places and in general. 

READ ALSO: WHO slams Germany for lax approach to banning smoking in public

Smoking is the largest preventable cause of death in the Bundesrepublik, with 127,000 people losing their lives each year from the consequences of cigarettes, reported Germany’s Robert Koch Institute. 

But the motto “ignorance is bliss” or a simple shrug seems to be embraced by the 35 percent of the population who smokes, a sharp contrast to the eight percent in my home state, where tobacco consumption is now taboo (and very expensive) following years of public outreach campaigns that Germany lacks en masse. 

But even from a European perspective, Germany has an especially large number of smokers. The Bundesrepublik has the fourth highest rate of Raucher (smokers) in Europe, trailing only slightly behind Greece and Bulgaria. 

While Germany’s Nordic near-neighbour Sweden prides itself on being almost smoke-free, Deutschland is often dubbed a smokers’ paradise: a place where, unlike Sweden (and much to the dismay of the WHO) taxes on tobacco products are relatively low, non-smoking areas are rarely policed, and it’s still possible to pick up a pack of cigarettes from a vending machine. 

Is the smoking culture changing?

For me, living in Germany has felt a bit like stepping back in time a few decades, when smoking was still widely promoted as cool, and many people seemed oblivious to the health consequences of taking a puff - both on themselves and others. 

"Smoking is made far too easy here, and at the same time a smoke-free environment is not sufficiently promoted," Daniel Kotz, head of the Debra study, which examines tobacco consumption in Germany, recently told the Rheinische Post.

There is also room for improvement in terms of availability, which suggests that tobacco is something everyday and harmless: "If you go to a gas station, a kiosk or a supermarket in Germany, the tobacco products are within reach and are displayed very prominently," said Kotz.

In countries like Norway, you have to specifically ask for cigarettes, which are then taken out from under the counter in brown standard packaging featuring only a warning and no marketing whatsoever.

Only recently did Germany become the last EU member state to ban billboard advertising for tobacco products, nearly 50 years after such a promotion was prohibited on TV and radio. The ban only went into effect on January 1st, 2022 and was followed by a ban on tobacco heater smoking devices going into force on January 1st, 2023. 

Only on January 1st, 2024 will it no longer be possible to advertise e-cigarettes, which the WHO cited as being particularly popular among young people and just as harmful as normal cigarettes. Of course, this doesn’t stop social media platforms like TikTok, arguably the most seen form of advertising for younger people, from featuring them.

Germany is also mulling a ban on smoking in cars with children or pregnant women, and any violators would be slapped with a fine. However, critics of the proposal say that such a Verbot (ban) would encroach on personal freedom - arguably the reason why other smoking bans have not been fully upheld. 

For historical reasons, Germany is also a country particularly sensitive about being told what to do, even in the name of public health, as a particularly large protest movement against Covid-19 restrictions showed.

But for me, personal freedom also means being able to walk down a street free of a heavy amount of second-hand smoke. The majority of these smokers don't seem shy about lighting up - or taking another puff - even as I stroll next to them with a small child.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against people indulging in their deadly habits in a cordoned-off area or smokers’ bar (which right now seems to be just about every bar in Berlin). 

But as long as cigarette prices go up less slowly than basics like butter, access is ubiquitous and bans on smoking in public places aren’t enforced, that still seems a long way from becoming a reality. 

READ ALSO: Why Germany needs to take the smoking ban more seriously

Share your own views on smoking in Germany in the comments section below.