Germany may fully ban the advertisement of tobacco products, Deutsche Welle reported.
The initiative was put forward by Marlene Mortler, Germany's commissioner on drug-related issues. Mortler plans to hold discussion of the issue in the federal government this year.
According to her, “quitting smoking must be the norm”. The previous parliament had discussed the ban. But the idea was not supported by the Ministry of Economy.
Currently, there is a general ban on tobacco advertising on the German TV and in print media.
Advertising banners featuring packs of cigarettes are still allowed as well as tobacco video and cinema ads shown after 18:00.
There are about 140,000 Germans dying every year from tobacco-related illnesses and 3,400 people dying from the effects of passive smoking.
Overall, there are 19 million smokers in Germany. The German spends about 1,000 euros on cigarettes a month in average.
According to the German government, it spends more than 20 billion euros per year on early retirement of smokers because of health problems, as well as on the treatment of smoking-related diseases.
