the three question marks today:
Do you have a fag - Why do so many young people start smoking?
Baerbock, Scholz, Lindner – Who is actually in charge of foreign policy?
New Year's Eve mood - firecrackers yes or no?
1. Are you smoking again?
There was a lot more smoking among young people this year.
According to new data, the proportion of tobacco smokers among 14 to 17 year olds has almost doubled in the past twelve months: from 8.7 to 15.9 percent.
"Extrapolated, this means that there are around 200,000 more underage smokers than in 2021," writes my colleague Claus Hecking, who evaluated the corresponding DEBRA study (the acronym stands for German survey on smoking behavior).
I even know some of the young tobacco friends personally.
According to the Youth Protection Act, they are not allowed to buy any tobacco products.
The fact that a total of more than 400,000 minors manage to get their hands on rolling tobacco and cigarettes on a regular basis suggests that controls are rather lax.
My children would say: at some point you get to know your people.
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Adolescent smoker
Photo:
Photolyric Stock Productions / Getty Images
The head of the DEBRA study told my colleague that smoking was becoming more popular overall.
The proportion of smokers in the total population aged 14 and over is now 35.5 percent.
Two years ago it was 26.6 percent, almost nine points less.
One can only speculate about the reasons.
Was it the constant stress caused by Corona?
Is it the many crises?
Anyone who believed that e-cigarettes contribute to weaning is in any case mistaken.
Their distribution also increased, but not nearly as much as conventional tobacco cigarettes.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach was appalled at the new data and announced that he would consider “measures for better protection of minors”.
In fact, there are countries with significantly stricter anti-tobacco laws, from plain packaging to sales bans to even higher taxes.
I'm curious to see how Lauterbach will manage the balancing act between stricter nicotine laws on the one hand and the planned relaxation of cannabis on the other.
Smoking fie, smoking pot hui: That should not only be a difficult communicative challenge.
Read more here: Hundreds of thousands of young people are starting to smoke
2. Scholz stops Baerbock
Who actually determines German foreign policy?
In any case, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock does not seem to be.
This is the result of research by our capital city office.
As my colleagues describe in the new SPIEGEL, there is a dispute between Baerbock's people and Olaf Scholz's chancellery.
And now Finance Minister Christian Lindner has also gotten involved.
It is about the »National Security Strategy«.
Baerbock announced it back in March, but the country is still waiting.
According to SPIEGEL information, top officials from the Chancellery and Ministry of Finance made sure five days before Christmas that Baerbock's draft strategy will not come out anytime soon.
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Cabinet colleagues Lindner, Scholz, Baerbock, Habeck
Photo:
Michele Tantussi / REUTERS
They declared their veto with a total of 30 open points.
Examples: Baerbock wants a “National Security Council” – Scholz is skeptical.
Baerbock wants precise guidelines for dealing with China - the Chancellery is too detailed.
Baerbock also wants to fight international terrorism - but Lindner thinks that the fight against money laundering is not enough for her.
"The argument revolves around formulations and deadlines," writes our capital city team.
In truth, however, it is about the question of power: “Who is in charge of foreign policy: the Chancellery or the Foreign Office?
Who will dominate the public image of Germany in the next few years: the interest-led Scholz or the value-oriented Baerbock?”
And so the coalition still lacks a compass that could point the way in times of war and the energy crisis.
Read the full story here: Who calls the shots in foreign policy?
3. Are you still firecrackers?
Starting today, firecracker fans can stock up on pyrotechnics for the New Year's fireworks.
However, not necessarily where they are used to in the past.
Several hardware stores and supermarkets have imposed a firecracker stop, "for reasons of animal and environmental protection," as Hornbach says.
Many Obi markets also don't sell fireworks, "for the sake of the environment and the animals."
A rule that only applies to centrally managed shops, individual markets could continue to offer firecrackers.
The same apparently applies to Toom, Bauhaus, the B1 discount hardware store and Globus.
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New Year's Eve fireworks in Berlin (archive): Three prohibited zones, high demand
Photo: Johannes Eisele/ picture-alliance/ dpa
Business in the other chains should be all the better.
The Federal Pyrotechnics Association expects an above-average bang.
"It is becoming apparent that the demand is higher than ever," said the association's chairman, Ingo Schubert, on the RBB info radio.
After last year's shooting was not allowed due to Corona, there is obviously a need to catch up.
However, several cities have announced that they will designate individual prohibited zones, for example in Berlin on Pariser Platz at the Brandenburg Gate and on Alexanderplatz.
However, my neighborhood is not affected by this, as was noticed today when the first test runs for December 31 in the neighborhood.
were started.
If I were a dog owner, I might be annoyed about it.
As it is, I'm looking forward to the fireworks on my doorstep.
Read more here: Firecracker stops in many hardware stores
News and background to the war in Ukraine
Apparently 69 Russian rockets fired at Ukrainian infrastructure:
According to the military, there have been "massive" Russian rocket attacks on several Ukrainian cities.
It is probably the largest attack on Ukraine's energy supply in two weeks.
The traitor:
An agent scandal shakes the Federal Intelligence Service.
Ironically, a suspected spy of Putin is said to have gone to work in a department that was extremely important for the Ukraine war.
He had access to explosive information.
The Reconstruction.
Find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine here: The News Update
What else is important today
Prosecutors are investigating against US Republican Santos:
The newly elected congressman George Santos has admitted to having invented parts of his CV.
The Republican wants to stick to his mandate – despite “simply breathtaking inconsistencies”.
Germany pays more into the EU budget than ever:
Brexit has shifted the budget contributions of the EU countries.
Germany transferred a record sum of 25.1 billion euros.
A lot of money went to two disputed states.
New Netanyahu government sworn in in parliament:
Benjamin Netanyahu is again prime minister a good year after the end of his fifth term in office.
The parliament in Jerusalem has approved his right-wing religious coalition.
ZDF leads the audience:
For the eleventh time in a row, ZDF was the most-watched channel in Germany.
This was the result of the evaluation of the TV ratings for 2022. One sporting event in particular brought millions of viewers to ARD and ZDF.
Hesse supports fertility treatments for lesbian and trans couples:
Support for fertility treatments in Hesse was previously reserved for heterosexual couples.
The country now sees itself as a pioneer when it comes to diversity.
My favorite story today: What should you know when you are 18?
The underage son of our guest author Katrin Wilkens recently asked her for advice.
What does he need to know in order to be considered educated at 18?
His request was: »Mom, write down 100 things I must have done by then.«
Enlarge image
Photo:
Justin Case/Getty Images
Katrin Wilkens started thinking.
"Our parents would have immediately thought of the classic educational canon, Plato, Goethe, Marx," she writes.
"But I don't think it's that easy anymore, after all we all carry our Brockhaus in our trouser pockets."
Instead, she put together a list of completely different challenges for her son, with everyday tasks, tests of courage, extreme experiences.
Here are some examples:
Get lost in an unfamiliar city (without the help of a smartphone).
Listen to Bach's Christmas Oratorio.
Hang out with someone significantly richer (and someone significantly poorer)
Spend the night in a forest – without a tent.
Leaf through a foreign dictionary and learn three new terms every day.
For three months.
Sew a button onto a jacket or pants.
Learn to write a few lines of code.
Touch a dead man - or at least look at him.
Do a job you don't want to do.
be drunk
Now I'm older than 18. Nevertheless, I came across points in the list where I have some catching up to do.
Perhaps you too will find an interesting challenge that would enrich your knowledge and your life.
Or can you think of a completely different thing that one should definitely have done by the age of 18?
Please write to me: alexander.neubacher@spiegel.de
Read the full story here: 100 things my son should have done before he turns 18
What we recommend at SPIEGEL+ today
The traitor:
An agent scandal shakes the Federal Intelligence Service.
Ironically, a suspected spy of Putin is said to have gone to work in a department that was extremely important for the Ukraine war.
He had access to explosive information.
The Reconstruction.
Traffic light politicians initially against controls for travelers from China:
The pandemic is raging in China.
The United States and other countries are now requiring travelers to China to take a negative test.
Health experts from the Greens and FDP are more cautious – they also rely on other measures.
How the Vatican is preparing for the death of Benedict:
The last pope emeritus died in 1417. How are the preparations for the death of Benedict XVI now?
out?
How does the Holy See pay tribute to the scandalous pontificate?
Answers to the most important questions.
"Avarice is back, but people don't think it
's cool": Rewe boss Lionel Souque expects butter prices to continue to rise in the coming year.
He accuses the brand manufacturers of enriching themselves from the crisis and explains how the sudden exit from DFB sponsorship came about.
Which is less important today
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Greta Thunberg, here in Lützerath (NRW) in September
Photo: Henning Kaiser / dpa
Pimmelwitz:
Greta Thunberg, 19, reacted quick-witted to a provocation by former kickboxer and reality TV actor Andrew Tate.
In a Twitter message, he boasted about his car collection and offered Thunberg to send her a list including the enormous emissions;
she should only give him her e-mail address.
Thunberg replied: "Please enlighten me, write me an e-mail smallerpenisenergie@hastdunichtsbettereszutun.com."
Apparently, she struck a chord with the Twitter audience.
More than 2.4 million users marked the entry with a heart.
Tate's original tweet, on the other hand, didn't even reach 200,000.
Typo of the day
, now corrected: "The twenty minutes he once spent at a Heidi Klum theme party in New York"
Cartoon of the day:
Every year again
And tonight?
Measured by the growth of my record collection, 2022 was not a particularly good year.
But I also owe the fact that there were some very good new discoveries to my colleague Andreas Borcholte and his weekly pop column.
At this point I would also like to advertise the excellent new album by the Cologne band Kratzen, which I have listened to a lot this year.
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The best pop albums of 2022
At the end of the year, Andreas has now compiled a list of his favorite records for 2022.
It includes Big Thief, Wet Leg and Dienerve, three bands that I was lucky enough to see live this year.
But there's also a lot of music that I seem to have overlooked.
So maybe the record collection is still growing.
You can listen to Andreas' annual charts on Spotify here.
And here you will find the songs that I have liked the most over the past twelve months.
I wish you a nice evening.
Yours sincerely,
Alexander Neubacher
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