Estonian authorities performed with an unusual initiative. They offer to punish women smoking during pregnancy, imprisonment for five years or charge a fine of 96 to 1600 euros in size, writes RIA Novosti. The Ministry of Justice of Estonia has prepared a bill in which smoking of the future mother is treated as harming the health of the fetus. And if, according to the current legislation, people can be punished, the actions or inaction of which led to the death of the fetus, the goal of the prepared draft law is to protect another unborn child from the actions of a mother who deliberately makes harm to the health of his future child.
At the same time, according to the Institute for Health Development, last year, 8.3% of women were smoked during pregnancy.
Earlier, the European Commission published data on the number of smoking citizens in the European Union. So, in Estonia, more than a quarter of the country (26%) smoke. Experts note that the average in Europe reaches 28%. Most of the smoking residents are noted in Greece - 40%, and the least in Sweden - 13%.