Claus Reinhardt
“Completely out of place”: President of the German Medical Association calls for a ban on firecrackers
New Year’s fireworks 2017/2018 in Stuttgart. In the meantime, calls for a ban on firecrackers at the turn of the year are being heard again.
© Christoph Schmidt / DPA
Every year again … Also this year the debate about a ban on firecrackers on New Year’s Eve is going on. Now the President of the German Medical Association has positioned himself.
The President of the German Medical Association has spoken out in favor of a “permanent and comprehensive” ban on firecrackers. The “unregulated banging” is “bad for the environment and climate and always leads to serious injuries”, said Klaus Reinhardt of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. Children, adolescents and young adults up to the age of 25 are particularly affected by bang trauma, as well as injuries to the eyes and burns. “This means a heavy additional burden for the employees in the clinics, who have already been working at the limit for months,” said Reinhardt.
Ban on firecrackers demanded on New Year’s Eve
In the past two years, no firecrackers were allowed to be sold in Germany and private fireworks were banned in certain places. The background was the utilization of the hospitals in the corona pandemic. Such legal restrictions are not foreseeable this year.
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Reinhardt also wanted a rethink in view of the world situation: It was “completely out of place to welcome the New Year with rockets while a war is raging in Europe,” he said. “For numerous refugees from war zones, the New Year’s Eve fire triggers bad feelings, some even fear of death. Instead of spending money on firecrackers and rockets, I would prefer a firework display for these people.”
Fireworks manufacturers are optimistic about the turn of the year
After two Corona winters this year, the German fireworks manufacturers are expecting good New Year’s business again: Many companies are no longer accepting pre-orders because they are either sold out or have no more transport capacities, said Ingo Schubert, Chairman of the Federal Association for Pyrotechnics and art fireworks, recently the editorial network Germany. “We sense that many people have missed the colorful New Year’s Eve tradition. There is a desire to catch up.”
The association assumes that the New Year’s Eve fireworks will take place again this year as usual, Schubert said. However, inflation and other burdens could dampen demand somewhat, meaning that sales will probably remain at the pre-coronavirus level instead of growing.