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Tag: Germany

  • Germany Steps Up Enforcement Against Illegal Vapes

    Germany Steps Up Enforcement Against Illegal Vapes

    According to an article by Stuttgarter Zeitung published today (Oct. 7), German authorities are stepping up enforcement against illegal disposable e-cigarettes amid concerns over products that bypass regulatory and tax requirements and are increasingly marketed to young people. The report on enforcement efforts in Berlin highlighted a raid targeting businesses selling unauthorized disposable vapes, while authorities continue broader investigations into illicit vape distribution.

    The scale of the market was underscored by a separate investigation that found more than 7.6 million nicotine-containing disposable vapes had been imported illegally into Germany between January 2024 and March 2025, resulting in an estimated €33.3 million in lost excise tax. Authorities have also seized large quantities of illegal vapes in raids as they target distributors and organized networks behind the trade.

  • Germany to Discuss Annual Tobacco Tax Increases

    Germany to Discuss Annual Tobacco Tax Increases

    Germany’s Bundestag is scheduled to hold a first reading Sept. 24 of a government bill that would raise taxes on cigarettes, heated tobacco, e-liquids, fine-cut tobacco, and other tobacco products annually from 2027 through 2030. The proposal would increase the weighted average retail price of a 20-cigarette pack from about €8.05 currently to €8.77 in 2027 and €11.36 by 2030. The bill is expected to move to parliamentary committees after the debate.

    The government estimates the changes would generate €756 million in additional tobacco-tax revenue in 2027, rising to €3.589 billion annually by 2030. The German Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products (BVTE), backed by BAT, JTI, Philip Morris, Reemtsma, and tobacco trade associations, has launched a campaign calling for lower and more predictable increases, citing concerns about legal-market sales and illicit trade.

  • Germany Busts Ring that Imported 7.6M Illegal Vapes

    Germany Busts Ring that Imported 7.6M Illegal Vapes

    German customs investigators announced over the weekend that they are investigating an alleged international network accused of illegally importing nicotine-containing disposable e-cigarettes from China and selling them on Germany’s black market. Authorities said the manufacturer structure allegedly imported more than 7.6 million disposable vapes between January 2024 and March 2025, resulting in an estimated €33.3 million in unpaid excise taxes.

    The investigation covers 23 defendants, including four employees of a Chinese e-cigarette manufacturer and 19 Germany-based individuals allegedly involved in receiving and reselling the products. Authorities executed 13 arrest warrants and seized more than 100 pallets containing about 600,000 illegal vapes, with estimated tax losses of €4 million. Investigators also seized four properties, a vehicle, luxury watches, gold jewelry, gold bars, cash valued at more than €2.25 million, and 37 bank accounts. The investigation is being led by the Essen Customs Investigation Office on behalf of the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office. All defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted.

  • STG Sells Fine-Cut Tobacco Brands to JT

    STG Sells Fine-Cut Tobacco Brands to JT

    Scandinavian Tobacco Group agreed to sell its fine-cut tobacco brands BREAK and Moro to Japan Tobacco Inc. for €176 million, representing a pre-tax enterprise value of approximately DKK 1.3 billion ($195 million). The transaction, which is expected to close by year-end pending customary approvals, includes brands primarily sold in Germany. BREAK and Moro accounted for about 4% of STG’s 2025 reported net sales and gross profit before special items, and approximately 6% of EBITDA before special items. Fine-cut tobacco represented around 12% of STG’s total 2025 sales.

    STG said the divestment supports its Focus2030 strategy by allowing the company to concentrate on higher-priority growth categories while transferring the brands to an owner better positioned to develop them. CEO Niels Frederiksen said proceeds from the deal will be used to reduce debt, lower leverage, and increase financial flexibility. The agreement also includes a contract manufacturing arrangement with JT for up to three years as STG reviews its manufacturing footprint and efficiency needs.

    The transaction is expected to reduce STG’s leverage ratio below its 2.5x target level at completion and will positively impact free cash flow through the transfer of inventories to JT. While the deal is expected to be dilutive to earnings, STG said it does not anticipate an impact on its 2026 guidance for reported net sales growth or EBIT margin before special items.

  • New German Plan Would Raise Cigarette Packs to €12 by 2030

    New German Plan Would Raise Cigarette Packs to €12 by 2030

    DW Media reported that Germany’s coalition government is planning a steeper increase in tobacco excise duties than previously proposed, with draft Finance Ministry plans expected to raise the average price of a pack of cigarettes from about €8 to €12 by 2030, while also increasing taxes on fine-cut tobacco used for roll-your-own cigarettes.

    According to German media reports, the higher-than-expected tax increases are intended to help close a budget shortfall while supporting the government’s public health objective of reducing smoking rates among youth and adults. The proposed measures would further increase the tax burden on the tobacco industry in one of Europe’s largest cigarette markets, where roughly one-quarter of the population aged 15 and older are regular smokers.

  • Vuse Unveils Collaboration at Berlin Fashion Week

    Vuse Unveils Collaboration at Berlin Fashion Week

    BAT Germany’s Vuse announced the expansion of its partnership with designer Marina Hoermanseder, unveiling a custom case for the Vuse Ultra device and Ultra Smart Pods during Berlin Fashion Week as part of the designer’s Spring/Summer 2027 show. Inspired by Vuse flavors, the accessory will be offered in three color variants — True Blueberry, Strawberry Fuchsia, and Elegant Tobacco — and will go on sale in October for €29 through Vuse’s website, selected retail locations, and the Vuse Loyalty Club. Following a successful collaboration with the designer last year, the new collection is part of Vuse’s “Follow your vibe” campaign, which emphasizes design, flavor, and personal expression.

  • German Study Finds Strict Laws Don’t Equate to Cessation Success

    German Study Finds Strict Laws Don’t Equate to Cessation Success

    An international study by the German Cancer Research Center analyzing more than 50,000 smokers across 29 countries found that while stronger tobacco control policies—such as taxes, warning labels, and smoking bans—significantly increase quit attempts, long-term success is driven largely by individual and social factors. The research showed that smokers living with other smokers or exhibiting higher nicotine dependence were substantially less likely to quit successfully, regardless of policy environment.

    Researchers said the findings highlight a gap between policy impact and behavioral outcomes, indicating that regulatory measures can prompt quitting efforts but do not guarantee cessation. The study concludes that outcomes are heavily influenced by personal environment, including household smoking behavior and addiction levels, suggesting that cessation success varies widely even in markets with strict tobacco control frameworks.

  • Charlotte’s Web Announces Financials, Deal with BAT

    Charlotte’s Web Announces Financials, Deal with BAT

    Charlotte’s Web Holdings, Inc. announced a transaction with BT DE Investments yesterday (March 30), a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, to convert a $54.2 million convertible debenture plus accrued interest into equity at $0.68 per share and complete a concurrent $10 million private placement, resulting in the issuance of about 110 million shares and a total equity commitment of roughly $75 million. The deal would eliminate about $65 million in debt, stop future interest accrual, and leave the company with no long-term debt, subject to shareholder and TSX approval at a meeting planned for May 28, 2026.

    Today (March 31), the company released its 2025 financials and said it advanced product innovation, in-house manufacturing, and healthcare channel development while holding annual revenue broadly steady at $49.9 million. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 4.7% year over year to $13.3 million, supported by new Brightside low-dose hemp THC gummies, sleep products, functional mushrooms, and minor cannabinoids, though gross margin was affected by a one-time inventory charge tied to legacy gummies. Full-year gross margin improved to 43.5% and SG&A fell 21% to $42 million following cost reductions, narrowing the operating loss to $20.3 million from $32 million in 2024. The company ended the year with $8 million in cash and reported progress toward internalizing gummy production, achieving a clean NSF 455-2 cGMP audit, and establishing a Scientific Advisory Board to support its expanding medical practitioner channel.

    Charlotte’s Web said the strengthened balance sheet will support its planned participation in a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation pilot enabling access to hemp-derived CBD products for Medicare beneficiaries and ongoing clinical development by DeFloria, its joint venture with BAT and Ajna BioSciences, which is preparing to begin Phase 2 trials of a botanical CBD-based treatment candidate in mid-2026.

  • Imperial to Close Langenhagen Plant by 2027

    Imperial Brands announced it will shut down cigarette production at its Reemtsma plant in Langenhagen, Germany, by 2027 after failing to secure a buyer, a move affecting around 600 employees. The site, operating since 1971 and currently producing cigarettes, fine-cut tobacco, and tobacco sticks for heated products, is the last Reemtsma manufacturing location in Germany. Company executive Sami Naffakh said extensive efforts to find a viable solution for the plant’s future had proved unsuccessful, citing high production costs, underutilization, and declining volumes in the traditional tobacco segment.

    Germany’s Food, Beverages and Restaurants Union criticized the process, claiming workers were kept in the dark about buyer discussions, while Imperial Brands said the union had been kept indirectly informed within confidentiality limits. The closure follows an October announcement that the site would either be sold or wound down, with production expected to be phased out over the next two years.

  • De Facto Flavor Ban Threatens German Harm Reduction

    De Facto Flavor Ban Threatens German Harm Reduction

    Germany is advancing a draft regulation to ban menthol and other vape flavors containing synthetic cooling agents, with implementation possible in 2026 under the Federal Ministry for Agriculture and Food, according to Filter magazine. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) says cooling agents may make vaping easier to inhale and potentially increase nicotine intake, particularly among youth, though it acknowledges that coolants are “poorly researched,” with “very limited” data to back these claims.

    Critics, including the Bundesverband Rauchfreie Alternative, argue the measure amounts to a de facto flavor ban because cooling agents are widely used in e-liquids. They warn it could undermine harm-reduction efforts in Germany, where smoking rates remain high despite a 2020 menthol cigarette ban aligned with European Union rules.

    Opponents say restricting flavored vapes risks pushing consumers back to combustible cigarettes or into illicit markets. Heino Stover, professor of social science addiction research at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, told Filter that the “scientific evidence is not there” to warrant such a sweeping ban. “A ban on flavors will not help decrease the high smoking prevalence,” he said. Germany’s aim of reducing its smoking rate to 5% or below by 2040 already seemed ‘unrealistic’ before the proposed ban; it now looks even more unrealistic.”

    The draft remains under review.