Tag: Germany

German Cigarette Sales at Historic Low

Photo: Tupungato
Cigarette sales in Germany fell 8.3 percent to 65.8 billion units in 2022, according to tobacco tax stamp figures published by the Federal Statistical Office on Feb. 8.
German cigarette volumes have been declining steadily for years. In 2012, smokers bought 82.4 billion cigarettes. As a result of tobacco tax increases and inflation-related adjustments, a pack of 20 premium cigarettes became more than 5 percent expensive in both 2022 and 2023—which is still below the average rate of inflation in those years.
In response to the price hikes, some smokers have switched to fine-cut tobacco, which is taxed at lower rates. Sales of roll-your-own and make-your-own cigarettes remained stable in 2022 at 25,080 tons.
Sales of cigars and cigarillos declined 8.9 percent compared to the previous year. The pipe tobacco tax category, which in 2021 still included classic pipe tobacco, water pipe tobacco and tobacco heaters, now only reflects sales of classic pipe tobacco, which reached 324.5 tons in 2022. The volume for water pipe tobacco was 962.6 tons.
The share of untaxed cigarette sales in Germany declined from 19.1 percent in 2019 to 17.3 percent in 2022, likely as a result of coronavirus-related travel restrictions. According to the German Association of the Tobacco Industry and New Products (BVTE), this means that lower legal cigarette sales were not fully offset by sales of products purchased abroad or on the black market.
In July 2022, Germany started taxing e-liquids at a rate of €0.16 ($0.17) per milliliter. The government taxed 226,018 liters that year, earning €42.6 million from the segment. The impact of the tax increases will become visible only after the old, untaxed stocks may no longer be sold after Feb. 13.
By 2026, Germany’s Ministry of Finance expects e-cigarettes to generate revenues of €1 billion, a figure that the BVTE in a statement described as unrealistic.
Despite the tax increase, the federal government collected €14.23 billion in tobacco taxes in 2022, 3.4 less than in 2021.
February 8, 2023
Lifting the Fog

Photo: Andrii
An official acknowledgement of nicotine pouches’ comparatively low risk clears the way for appropriate regulation in Germany.
By Stefanie Rossel
The news was a minor sensation given German authorities’ reluctance to acknowledge the reduced harm potential of novel tobacco products. On Oct. 7, 2022, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), a scientific institution of the German government, published a statement in which it confirmed that tobacco-free nicotine pouches could reduce the health risks compared to smoking.
Jan Muecke | Photo: German Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products
The risk profile of modern oral nicotine products, as they are also called, is comparable to that of medical nicotine-replacement products such as nicotine patches, the institute wrote in its evaluation, which was published in several scientific journals, including Tobacco Control. Carried out by BfR scientists in August 2022, they study showed that aside from nicotine, the pouches contain no substances that present health concerns. In some samples, researchers detected traces of tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are also found in medical nicotine-replacement products. According to Jan Muecke, chief executive of the German Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products, this problem is solvable, however.
To protect consumers, the BfR recommended regulation of the manufacture, presentation and sale of nicotine pouches. Tobacco harm reduction advocates hope the findings will prompt German authorities to finally regulate modern oral nicotine products as tobacco products.
Nicotine pouches comprise small sachets with a mixture of cellulose fibers, flavorings, water, humidifying and gelling agents along with preservatives and artificial sweeteners. Since their introduction in Germany, they have existed in a regulatory gray area. Because the products contain nicotine, authorities decided that sales require monitoring. However, since the products are tobacco-free, the German tobacco product law does not apply.
Following several assessments and court rulings, German regulators classified modern oral nicotine products as food, making it subject to European food law. However, the European Union prohibits the use of nicotine as a food, food ingredient, food additive or food flavor, which means nicotine pouches classified as food may not be sold in the trade bloc. In March 2021, the administrative court in Hamburg confirmed that the sale of modern oral nicotine products was illegal. Other German courts have followed suit.
According to Muecke, the classification of nicotine pouches as food has been problematic because it misleadingly implies that the products are being eaten. “This is nonsense,” he says. “The products are consumed by putting the pouch between the upper lip and gum and leaving it there while the nicotine and taste is being released. After use, the complete pouch is disposed of. This makes them comparable to toothpaste or floss—no one would think of declaring these products as food.”
Regulation Protects Consumers
By classifying nicotine pouches as food, Germany is an outlier. In the 16 EU member states where modern oral products are available, they are regulated either as tobacco or as a consumer product. Demark and the Czech Republic have even created a new product category for nicotine pouches, defining them as tobacco surrogates and allowing the sale to adults.
Muecke welcomes the opportunity that the BfR assessment offers Germany to change its classification. “The BfR statement contains all data that are required for appropriate regulation of nicotine pouches,” he says. “Scientific studies have confirmed that if nicotine content is limited to a maximum of 20 mg per pouch, nicotine blood levels will not be higher than when smoking a combustible cigarette. We therefore hope that the government will take the request of the consumer protection conference of the federal states seriously who in 2021 had called for regulation of nicotine pouches under tobacco law.
“In the current state of legal uncertainty, modern oral nicotine is nevertheless on the German market—consumers buy their nicotine pouches online from abroad. These products often do not stick to nicotine limits, and child and youth protection cannot be efficiently controlled. Adequate regulation of nicotine pouches as tobacco products would hence protect consumers and youths.”
A chance for a change is already in sight: Under a delegated directive from the European Commission, the German government has until July 2023 to revise the country’s rules for heated-tobacco products (HTPs). “HTPs will be more strictly regulated in Germany in the future,” Muecke explains. “Therefore, it would make sense to find legal regulation for nicotine pouches during the same legislative process, which for HTPs will have to be concluded in the first half of 2023. To wait for a new version of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) that won’t be translated into national law until 2025 or 2026 would be wrong as unregulated online purchases of modern oral nicotine products with excessive levels of nicotine would continue to endanger consumers.”
The European Commission intends to publish a draft of the revised TPD in 2024. While the wording is still unknown, the public has an opportunity to share its views through a consultation. Muecke encourages all stakeholders to take part, for example through the German-language website dein-ding.de.
While it would technically be possible to regulate nicotine under the revised TPD, this is not Muecke’s preferred solution. “The products are on the market right now and available in 16 EU member states, especially in most of our neighboring countries, hence Germany shouldn’t be an island of prohibition,” he says. Muecke suggests regulators use the TPD’s e-cigarette regulations as guidelines for modern oral nicotine products.
Muecke is confident that appropriate regulation for the novel oral nicotine products will be implemented in Germany. “A ban of nicotine pouches would not be in accordance with the principle of risk minimization,” he says. “The government must create a possibility for consumers to buy such reduced-risk products at retailers—it’s an absolute necessity.”
Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.

February 1, 2023
German Trade Group Blasts Call for Vape Ban

Jan Muecke
(Photo: German Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products)
Recent calls to ban e-cigarettes lack a scientific basis, according to the German Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products (BVTE).
In a recent interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Manne Lucha, minister of social affairs, health and integration for Baden-Württemberg, said that e-cigarettes should be treated the same as combustible cigarettes and that flavored vapor products should be banned.
“It is a scientific consensus that the intake of harmful substances when vaping e-cigarettes is much lower than when smoking tobacco. With his ‘post-factual’ statements, the minister is causing consumer uncertainty with counterproductive consequences for health policy,” said BVTE CEO Jan Muecke in a statement.
Muecke cited a 2020 statement by the German Cancer Research Center, which acknowledged that a complete switch from smoking to vaping reduces the consumer’s exposure to harmful substances. He also quoted Public Health England’s finding that e-cigarettes are at least 95 percent less harmful than smoking.
According to the BVTE, e-cigarettes are the most frequently used smoking-cessation tool in Germany, ahead of less effective methods such as medical nicotine replacement products. The wide choice of flavored liquids, meanwhile, is a significant factor for adult smokers to switch to vaping, the organization wrote.
“Instead of fueling fears with false claims and misguided demands for bans, e-cigarettes should finally be promoted in Germany as an opportunity to minimize risks for smokers,” Muecke said.
January 31, 2023
Trade Group: Germans Smoking Less

Photo: Rene Van Den Berg | Dreamstime.com
Contrary to what the recently conducted German Survey on Smoking Behavior (DEBRA) suggests, Germans are smoking less, writes the German Association of the Tobacco Industry and New Products (BVTE) on its website, citing figures from the Federal Statistical Office (FSE).
According to the FSE, sales of taxed cigarettes will decline in 2022 for the fourth year in a row, falling well below the 70 billion unit threshold for the first time.
“People are smoking less and less in Germany. That is a fact that cannot be disputed,” says Jan Muecke, chief executive of the BVTE. “If more smoked, we would have to see that in the sales statistics. The opposite is the case.”
Conducted at the University of Duesseldorf, the DEBRA found that the proportion of smokers in the total population increased from 25.4 percent in 2020 to 37.6 percent in July 2022. Among underage tobacco users, the prevalence had even almost doubled within one year, showing an increase from 8.7 percent in 2020 to 15.9 percent in 2022. According to the DEBRA, several million adults and around 200,000 minors have (re)started smoking.
The BVTE noted that such a significant increase in smoking prevalence should have been reflected in government sales statistics, even if the new smokers were only occasional users.
However, fewer cigarettes have been sold in Germany every year since 2019. From 2019 to 2021, cigarette sales fell by 3.6 percent to 71.7 billion units. This trend continued in 2022. The FSE reported tax stamp purchases for 60.7 billion units from January 2022 to November 2022. This means that 8 percent fewer cigarettes were produced for the German market than in the same period of the previous year.
For 2022 as a whole, the agency expects sales of around 67 billion units.

“People are smoking less and less in Germany. If more smoked, we would have to see that in the sales statistics. The opposite is the case.”
Jan Muecke, chief executive, BVTE
According to the BVTE, the discrepancy between official sales statistics and the DEBRA data points to methodological weaknesses in the survey. For example, the alleged increase in the proportion of underage consumers is based on a sample of only about 50 young people—apparently including eight people who reported smoking. Based on this data, says the BVTE, any estimate of smoking prevalence is highly uncertain.
Muecke lamented the fact that the dubious DEBRA results were used to justify misguided demands for regulation. “Tobacco is fully regulated,” he said. “Adult smokers in Germany already feel unduly patronized and are not reached even with ever new bans and restrictions.”
At the same time, German policy fails to expand the range of new alternative products for smokers and to create more opportunities and greater acceptance for potentially risk-reduced nicotine consumption, according to the BVTE.
For example, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture is delaying the regulation of tobacco-free nicotine pouches, which are still not available to smokers in German shops despite the fact that the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has acknowledged that switching from cigarettes to nicotine pouches could represent a reduction in the health risk for a person who smokes.”
January 22, 2023
Institute: Pouches Safer Than Smoking

Photo: Swedish Match
In the statement published on Oct. 7, 2022, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) confirmed that tobacco-free nicotine pouches can reduce health risks compared to smoking. To protect consumers, the BfR recommends regulation of the manufacture, presentation and sale of nicotine pouches.
In a detailed study on the material composition of tobacco-free nicotine pouches performed in August 2022, BfR scientists found that aside from nicotine, the pouches contain no substances presenting health concerns. In some samples, however, they detected traces of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA) similar to those found in medical nicotine-replacement products.
The BfR scientists did express concern about inadequate labeling and missing warnings on some products.
“These critical comments can be resolved in principle,” said Jan Muecke, CEO of the German Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products (BVTE), in a statement. “It would make a lot of sense to set appropriate limits for nicotine and TSNAs and to introduce binding regulations on warnings and labeling obligations. A high level of consumer protection must be guaranteed.”
Muecke said the BVTE would welcome regulation of nicotine pouches under tobacco laws. Contrary to their counterparts, other European countries, German regulators treat nicotine pouches as food products. As a result, they are illegal in Germany.
Muecke said he hoped the BfR assessment would prompt regulators to rethink. “We want tobacco-free nicotine pouches to provide consumers of tobacco and nicotine products with another potentially less harmful alternative,” he said.
October 13, 2022
BAT Invests in Sanity Group

Photo: PiyawatNandeenoparit
BAT, via one of its wholly owned group companies, has acquired a noncontrolling minority stake in Sanity Group, one of Germany’s leading cannabis companies.
This investment is complementary to other recent investments made by BAT companies, most notably the strategic R&D collaboration established with Canada’s Organigram Holdings announced in March last year.
Sanity Group, which is based in Berlin, produces CBD consumer brands and medical cannabis brands. It also has a proven track record in the research, development and marketing of cannabis products.
“Investing in Sanity Group is another example of BAT’s ongoing work to explore numerous areas beyond nicotine, positioning BAT for future portfolio growth across a range of categories and geographies,” said Kingsley Wheaton, chief growth officer at BAT, in a statement.
“We continue to transform our business through better understanding of our current and future consumers as part of our ‘A Better Tomorrow’ purpose.”
Sanity secured $37.6 million in the BAT-led Series B funding round, according to Sanity founder and CEO Finn Age Hansel. About half of the funding will go toward strengthening Sanity’s medical business. The rest of the funding will go toward preparing for the possible legalization of recreational marijuana in Germany.
Germany has not legalized recreational cannabis yet, but action is expected sooner rather than later. Germany’s coalition government is “working actively on it and really want[s] to come to a good draft of the law by the end of this year,” Hansel said. “This is really a priority topic for the government.”
“This funding is an important milestone for us and a strong signal toward the future of cannabis in Germany and Europe,” said Max Narr, chief investment officer at Sanity Group. “Against the backdrop of a challenging global economy, we are proud to have achieved a funding round of this magnitude.”
September 26, 2022
State of Euphoria

Photos courtesy of Demecan and the German Cannabis Association
Germany’s new government plans to legalize cannabis.
By Stefanie Rossel
With Germany’s new government, a coalition of the center-left Social Democrats, the Green party and the liberal Free Democrats, taking office on Dec. 6, 2021, a long-awaited change moved closer to becoming reality. The country, the parties announced in their coalition agreement, will legalize the sale of cannabis to adults—that is, consumers from the age of 18—for recreational purposes. Although no details were mentioned and no timetable was set, the announcement sent cannabis stocks to new heights.
The Financial Times described the announcement as “game-changing precedent for the global business of growing and selling marijuana” that would be closely watched by other countries. With its proposal, Germany would join a movement of cannabis reform around the world. Canada, Uruguay as well as 19 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have already legalized recreational cannabis. In the European Union, Malta in mid-December became the first country to permit the use and growth of weed for recreational purposes. Sales, however, will remain prohibited.
After legalization, Germany will be the biggest EU cannabis market by far. For the time being, the recreational consumption of marijuana in the country is not explicitly illegal, but sales, imports and cultivation are prohibited. Germany legalized medicinal cannabis in 2017.
With further legalization, the government aims to dry out the illegal market, lower criminal justice expenditures and protect public health. According to the German Cannabis Association, illegal marijuana is often contaminated with sand, sugar, glass or spices. Increasingly, synthetic cannabinoids, up to 100 times stronger than natural psychoactive cannabinoids, are used to dilute the weed.
The proposal also includes preventive measures, such as the creation of facilities where consumers can check cannabis from the black market for harmful additives. Marijuana advertising will be strictly regulated. The coalition has agreed to keep the ban on private cannabis cultivation. Whether foreign nationals will be allowed to buy cannabis in Germany, too, remains unclear. According to the coalition agreement, the measure will be evaluated after four years, especially in terms of youth protection.

Georg Wurth
Details Unknown
What cannabis regulation in Germany will look like exactly remains unclear. The coalition is expected to introduce a cannabis tax; a recent study by Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf estimates that such a tax could contribute €1.8 billion ($1.14 billion) annually to the state treasury. Legalization would bring in an estimated €4.7 billion per year due to additional revenues from corporate tax, trade tax and value-added tax as well as from savings in prosecution and the judicial system. It could also create 27,000 new jobs, the study found.
Apart from pharmacies, the licensed dispensaries mentioned in the coalition agreement reportedly might include tobacconist shops and perhaps even dedicated coffee shops as in the Netherlands, which tolerates recreational cannabis for personal consumption. The new government is expected to define thresholds for the content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, in the products to be sold. The government might also review Germany’s traffic laws, which currently allow 1 nanogram of THC per milliliter of blood serum.
The legalization proposal, long opposed by previous Christian Democrat party-led governments, has triggered a heated debate in Germany. Physicians specializing in addiction treatment warn that it would boost consumption and encourage related issues, such as dependence, depressive and anxiety disorders, psychoses and developmental delays in young people. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials are skeptical that legalization will erase the black market. A tax, they claim, would make legal cannabis significantly more expensive, thus leading to competition between legal and illegal sources.
Georg Wurth, managing director of the German Cannabis Association, does not share law enforcement’s concerns. “The black market will at least be pushed back,” he says. “Every single euro of revenue that will be generated on the legal market will be retracted from the illicit market, and every percent that moves from the black to the legal market is a progress. I’d rather have a legal and a black market than a 100 percent illegal market. If you take cigarettes as an example, there is also a black market, but there are no plans to prohibit cigarettes in order to rein that in.”
The right pricing will be decisive for deflating the illegal market, Wurth adds. “All three coalition partners are aware that they shouldn’t overplay their hand if they really want to force back the illegal market. I am confident that they will succeed if they find the right approach at pricing. In Canada, it took about two and a half years until half of the cannabis revenues came from the legal market.”
Illicit cannabis currently retails at €10 per gram in Germany. Interestingly, this is also the sales price for medicinal cannabis in pharmacies. “Cannabis already is relatively inexpensive in Germany,” says Adrian Fischer, co-founder and managing director of Demecan, which supplies medicinal cannabis. “We presume that consumers will be willing to pay a higher price for legal cannabis for recreational purposes that has a better quality than illegal weed, but the price shouldn’t be much higher than €10. In addition, it has to be guaranteed that there are a sufficient number of points of sale for marijuana. If a consumer must drive 50 kilometers to the next legal dispensary, he is more likely to stick with his dealer round the corner.” If legal cannabis is priced competitively, Fischer forecasts that the German marijuana market will be worth €5 billion in five years.
While the German Cannabis Organization opposes a limit on the THC content, Fischer suggests linking it to certain age limits, as with alcohol. In Germany, drinks with a low alcohol content, such as beer or wine, can be legally purchased from the age of 16 while liquor drinkers have to wait until they turn 18. “Similarly, cannabis with a lower THC content could be made available for 18-year-olds and with a higher THC content for 21-year-olds,” says Wurth.

Adrian Fischer
Important Considerations
The German Cannabis Organization believes the coalition should consider four aspects in shaping regulation. For starters, it should permit private cultivation for personal consumption. “In other countries that have legalized marijuana, such as Uruguay and some U.S. states, this is part of the law,” says Wurth.
Traffic laws are another issue. “Presently, limiting values and criminal proceedings are extremely strict. Cannabis users may lose their driver’s license even though they did not drive stoned, only because they have remainders of cannabis in their blood from consumption days ago that don’t have any effect on their driving behavior anymore,” says Wurth.
He also insists on an amnesty for the cannabis users who are currently listed as criminal offenders. “Their entries have to be deleted,” says Wurth. “In the U.S. states where marijuana is legal, this is regularly being done.”
Lastly, the sale of legal cannabis should remain restricted to specialist shops, according to the German Cannabis Organization. This would also guarantee better youth protection.
However, neither the legalization of cannabis for adults nor prohibition can prevent marijuana consumption among youths, cautions Wurth. “Legalization would nevertheless have a positive impact on youths, even though it cannot principally prevent youth consumption,” he says. “Youths are more susceptible to prevention measures, hence the latter should be stepped up significantly and reformed.
“Currently, police give preventive lessons in schools. They tend to get the message across that youths shouldn’t touch cannabis or else they would end up in the gutter, lose their driver’s licenses, etc. I hope that with the legalization there will also be more investment in better education and credible prevention measures so that youths seek drug counselling help earlier.”
If youths do consume cannabis, Wurth adds, it is safer if their older friends or siblings bring them legal weed from a licensed dispensary rather than potentially contaminated marijuana from a street dealer as is the case now.

Companies currently supplying medical cannabis say they will be able to scale up production rapidly when Germany legalizes recreational cannabis.
Gold Rush
The German illegal marijuana market is estimated at about 400 tons, most of which is imported from Morocco. Since Germany is a signatory to the 1961 United Nations Single Convention On Narcotic Drugs, the country will not be allowed to import or export cannabis for recreational purposes once the substance has been legalized. This means the coalition will either have to negotiate new conditions or stipulate that all cultivation has to take place in Germany.
Presently, only medicinal cannabis is grown in Germany. That business is controlled by three companies: Tilray, Aurora and Demecan. Under supervision of the state-owned cannabis agency, they jointly cultivate 2.6 tons of medicinal cannabis annually to cater to a market that is estimated at 12 tons to 15 tons per year, with demand increasing, according to Fischer. Due to the strict rules and standards, the companies grow the plants in hermetically sealed buildings, with product stored in high-security vaults. The first domestic crop reached pharmacies only last summer; a large amount of medicinal cannabis is still imported.
After legalization of recreational cannabis, manufacturers say they will be able to quickly expand production. Demecan has opened a center for medicinal cannabis in Ebersbach and recently finalized construction of Europe’s largest indoor marijuana production site. It presently has the capacity to produce 1 ton of medicinal cannabis but can supply 50 percent more at short notice, according to Fischer. “Within a year, we could step up capacity to 4 tons and in the mid-term to 10 tons per year. We are prepared to cater to growing demand. Our aim is to cultivate life quality and to ensure patient care, hence it is important to us that legalization of recreational cannabis doesn’t happen at the expense of patients. Therefore, we have built large production capacities to cater to both markets.”
The three providers of medicinal cannabis alone will nevertheless not be able to meet the demand for recreational cannabis, he admits. “To reach this target, legislature must tender licenses for the cultivation of marijuana in Germany relatively quickly and right on time before the actual legalization.”
With medicinal cannabis being a medicine, all aspects of production are subject to the narcotics act and must be compliant with good manufacturing practices and good agricultural and collection practices guidelines. A relaxation of production regulations for the cultivation of recreational weed, Fischer says, could contribute to less costly production.

Medicinal cannabis has been legal in Germany since 2017
Role Models
Wurth expects it to take another one or two years until the law takes effect—and even longer until the first licenses will be allocated, cultivation gets started and the first shops open. “The quickest part of such a law would be the decriminalization of consumers. The U.S. have shown that this can happen immediately.”
In shaping the law, he says, Germany has several role models it could draw upon. “The Netherlands are no example of a legalized market as the coffee shops are only tolerated, and supply is not regulated, so that criminal structures have emerged like everywhere else. But the coffee shops are a good example of allowing consumption on-site, which is not the case in most other countries that have legalized marijuana. As for points of sale, Germany should look to Canada and the U.S.—licensed specialist shops in a limited number; no access for youths; exact declaration of the products, their origins and their CBD and THC contents. Uruguay allows cultivation for personal use; people can even join grower communities to cultivate their weed or have it cultivated.”
In the end, the legalization of cannabis in Germany might go more smoothly, critics fear. In February 2021, the Cato Institute published a study on the legalization of marijuana by some U.S. states. It found that both proponents and opponents overstated their cases. Except for tax revenues, which exceeded some expectations, the report says state legalizations have mainly had minor effects.
Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.

February 1, 2022
Piping Up

Ruth Gunning (Photo: European Shisha Community Alliance )
Ruth Gunning, board director of the European Shisha Community Alliance, discusses the challenges facing the water pipe tobacco sector in Germany.
By Stefanie Rossel
While still a niche, shisha has become more popular in Germany in recent years. The country is the largest market for water pipe tobacco in the European Union, with entrepreneurs introducing many new shisha brands. Germany is also home to large communities from Turkey and the Middle East, where smoking shisha has historically been a popular pastime. Many Germans try shisha on holidays in Turkey, Egypt or Dubai and subsequently seek it out when they return home.
According to estimates by the European Shisha Community Alliance (ESCA), smokers consume about 5,500 tons of shisha annually in Germany. A quarter of it is consumed in the country’s approximately 6,000 shisha lounges. But the market has a severe black market problem—around 45 percent of water pipe tobacco is nonduty paid or counterfeit.
As part of the country’s recently passed tobacco tax reform, the German ministry of finance will increase taxes on shisha tobacco by an additional €23 ($27.24) per kilo by 2026. Furthermore, pack sizes will be limited to 25 grams from July 1, 2022.
Tobacco Reporter spoke with Ruth Gunning, head of EU engagement for shisha manufacturer Al Fakher and a board director for the ESCA, about the challenges facing the sector.
Tobacco Reporter: Water pipe smoking is a social activity, with much of it taking place in shisha lounges. Which impact has the Covid-19 pandemic had on the German shisha market?
Ruth Gunning: It has been an extremely difficult period, and unfortunately the relief has been slower than originally anticipated so far in 2021. Many of our members have been unable to operate—lounges due to the restrictions that have been put in place and some retailers have had to remain shut due to the nonessential nature of their business. Not just in Germany but across Europe. Much of the use was driven into the home.
As the hospitality sector was allowed to reopen, initially with outdoor areas being most popular, we started to see more anti-tobacco groups being very vocal about banning outdoor smoking and linking it to the spread of Covid-19 despite having no evidence to support this. Shisha is nothing like cigarettes, yet these groups seem to conveniently forget that people’s livelihoods are fully reliant on the shisha sector operating at full capacity. We estimate that there are about 65,000 people across Europe with jobs that are dependent on the shisha category. ESCA has had to work hard with its members to try to ensure that shisha bars and lounges are afforded the same opportunities for reopening as others in the hospitality sector. All of our members are fully committed to upholding extensive hygiene standards to ensure their customers are protected and feel safe.
Amid the crisis, Germany, uniquely in the EU, passed a law to reduce the packaging size for shisha tobacco to 25 grams in order to curb illicit trade. What is your take on this measure?
We support any efforts to help to reduce the problem of illicit trade. The problem with this new proposal is that it requires significant enforcement, which will undoubtedly not happen. It also doesn’t properly address the growing problem of illicit [trade]. Enforcement in Germany, particularly in lounges serving illegal product, is very low, and now with the increase in prices for consumers, the incentive for smugglers will grow and/or people will buy elsewhere, i.e., in countries where they can access larger pack sizes at cheaper prices.
What impact will this regulation have on manufacturers?
Complexity and cost. This new size will require a reconfiguration of the production process in factories. New equipment and materials will be required, and Germany will be the only country to have this, which will be costly. Manufacturers who are hardest hit by illicit [trade] may face real challenges in protecting the legal market if the government does not step in and enforce its new laws.
What does it mean for shisha lounge owners?
Again, it’s a question of enforcement. Many lounge owners are legally compliant; they are already required to serve only 20 gram packs to consumers. But because there is a lack of consistent enforcement, those who seek to abide by the law lose out. They already compete on an uneven playing field.

Many shisha lounges in Germany have been unable to operate due to Covid-19 restrictions. (Photo: Parilov)
Will the new rules help reduce tobacco consumption in Germany?
The more restrictions are placed on products like shisha, the more the illegal market grows—and with that comes an added risk to consumers. Therefore, I don’t think added restrictions will reduce tobacco consumption; it will merely drive it underground.
Germany and Europe’s aim to reduce tobacco use is totally understandable. And in fact, globally, many people recognize that a move from combustible to heated products can be beneficial. However, it is important to remember that shisha is very different from cigarettes. Shisha is heated at a much lower temperature compared to cigarettes, which are burnt, and the aerosol produced when shisha is heated comprises 60 percent water vapor compared to 15 percent in cigarette smoke.
According to the Federal Institute of Risk in Germany, on average, people in Germany use a shisha once or twice a week. If you compare this to cigarette use, where on average users can smoke 20 [cigarettes] to 30 cigarettes a day, the difference in consumption pattern is staggering. The exposure to tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide over a one-week period for average shisha smokers is far less than that for average cigarette smokers. Shisha is much lower on the risk continuum than cigarettes, and as governments aim to reduce cigarette and combustible tobacco use, they should not apply the same regulations to shisha.
Whilst shisha is a tobacco product and is not harmless, it is used very occasionally, it is a social activity, and it has cultural and historical roots. Shisha consumption is a lifestyle choice for adults, is a force for good and is part of an inclusive society.
Your association estimates that illicit product accounts for more than 45 percent of the German shisha market. How does this compare to the situation in other EU markets?
It’s not the worst in the EU because the taxes are not the highest when compared to other countries. However, with the newly imposed excise hikes, this will likely change from January 2022 onward. The biggest factor driving the illegal business in Europe is the EU’s position on shisha taxation. At the moment, shisha is taxed in the “Other tobacco” category, which includes pipe tobacco, cigars and cigarillos. These are very different products to shisha in terms of use and market size. The range of taxes in the EU goes from €22 per kg to €250 per kg. This, combined with the open borders, causes a great deal of instability in the shisha tobacco market. The French market, for example, has 85 [percent] to 90 percent illegal shisha, and that is solely because the tax is so high. Spain, on the other hand, is almost 100 percent legal because it has reasonable taxes. This provides the Spanish government with full control over the sector.
Many countries, such as Russia and now Germany, have introduced a special tax category for shisha alone. But more is needed. In addition to its own tax category, ideally, shisha should be taxed based on the percentage of tobacco contained in the shisha. Shisha only contains about 15 percent tobacco and should be taxed based on this. In Russia, they switched to a tax system that only taxes the actual tobacco content, and they converted the market from almost 100 percent illegal to 100 percent legal in a short period of time.
What, in your view, would be a better solution to tackle black market for hookah tobacco?
The most obvious solution is to apply excise according to the weight of the tobacco. This would bring prices down and significantly reduce incentive for organized criminal gangs to smuggle and counterfeit shisha products. Additional sensible solutions are to stock, prepare and serve shisha in sight of the consumers and from its original packaging. This requires enforcement by authorities and also a desire by consumers to be served genuine product. Consumers should demand certain standards. Introducing a licensing system for shisha lounges with license renewal to be subject to compliance performance—for example, with withdrawal of a license after three infringements—would also be a possibility. Furthermore, there should be regular inspections of inventory and significant fines for those involved in selling illegal products.
Which countries have handled this issue most successfully and could serve as an example?
Spain is really the best example I can give. In addition to the steps outlined above, another known and proven way to get illicit trade under control and to meet the objective of protecting public health is to ensure that the tax rate takes into account the rates in neighboring countries, tax increases are planned over the long term and are increased in regular and small increments and close cooperation between industry and authorities. Additionally, enforcement and penalties should be strong enough to act as a deterrent. A legal market is easier for the authorities to monitor, and legal manufacturers are obliged to follow all product, packaging and marketing regulations, which strengthens the authorities’ aim of protecting public health. Criminals that are involved in the illegal trade of shisha don’t follow any regulations or laws, and the authorities cannot monitor the product as it is mostly sold out of sight and “under the table.”
What about the future of shisha in Europe?
The next big piece of legislation that we need to be prepared for is the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive. The EU has already stated that it aims to ban flavors for all tobacco products. Shisha is inherently flavored; therefore, it would act as a de facto ban of the product. That would be disastrous for thousands of businesses across the EU, deprive EU citizens of the ability to legally consume shisha and exacerbate an already flourishing illegal market.
Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.

October 1, 2021
Tobacco Tax Hike Clears German Upper House

Photo: Sebastian H
Germany’s upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, on June 25 approved tobacco tax reform legislation, which includes tax hikes on both traditional cigarettes and next-generation products, reports the Berliner Zeitung.
In 2022 and 2023, the tobacco tax on a pack of 20 combustible cigarettes will increase by an average of €0.10 ($0.12) each year; in 2025 and 2026, it will go up by another €0.15 each year. A pack of branded cigarettes currently costs around €7 in Germany, which last raised its tobacco taxes in 2015.
Manufacturers are likely to pass the higher taxes on to consumers.
Around one in four German adults regularly smokes cigarettes. Health activists had called for significantly higher tobacco tax hikes. The German Cancer Research Center, for example, said the rate would have to increase by at least 10 percent to make a significant dent in smoking. The increases approved by the Bundesrat amount to 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
Tobacco taxes earned Germany €14.7 billion in 2020. Without a tax increase, the tax authorities had forecast tobacco tax revenues of €14.1 billion for 2022; with the rules that have now been adopted, they anticipate almost €16 billion.
The tax increase disproportionally targets e-cigarettes and the consumables for tobacco-heating devices—a feature that has attracted considerable criticism from the vapor industry and tobacco harm reduction advocates, who believe such products should be taxed comparatively lightly because they are believed to be less harmful than combustible cigarettes.
SPD politician Michael Schrodi rejected such criticism by pointing out that novel tobacco products have been taxed at low rates to date. “Now they are being taxed appropriately because they too are a health hazard and are potentially addictive,” he said.
June 28, 2021
Germany Approves Tobacco Tax Hike

Photo: JFL Photography
The Bundestag on June 11 approved legislation to make smoking in Germany more expensive as of next year, reports Iamexpat. The tax on a pack of 20 cigarettes will rise by an average of €0.10 ($0.12) in 2021. A year later, a further €0.10 will be added, and in both 2025 and 2026, another €0.15 per pack will be added.
The greatest increases, however, have been reserved for e-cigarettes and tobacco-heating products, which were previously only lightly taxed.
Currently, a 10 mL bottle of vape liquid costs around €5 in Germany. In 2022, an extra €1.60 will be added to this price in taxation, and this will rise to €3.20 by 2026. An additional tax is also to be introduced for heated-tobacco, so that in the future, it will be treated similarly to cigarettes for tax purposes.
Vapor industry representatives slammed the tax hikes, arguing that their products contain significantly fewer harmful substances than tobacco cigarettes and should therefore be taxed at lower levels.
The Association of the E-Cigarette Trade (VdeH) warned that the move would not only prompt vapers to revert to smoking but also destroy numerous small and medium-sized businesses.
“The mere fact that e-cigarette liquids are generally taxed more heavily than tobacco cigarettes and thus ignore the 95 percent lower potential for damage is insane health policy,” said VdeH Managing Director Michal Dobrajc in a German-language statement. Taxing nicotine-free products as well as cigarettes defies common sense, he added.
Dobrajc said Germany should learn from the experience of other countries that were forced to lower their vapor taxes as vapers returned to smoking and anticipated revenues failed to materialize.
“The Tobacco Tax Modernization Act is a disaster in both health and economic terms,” said Dobrajc. “If you are serious about reducing the smoking rate, then you have to support the industry that is making a significant contribution to reducing it instead of destroying it.”
The Alliance for Tobacco-Free Enjoyment said that it intends to go to the Federal Constitutional Court to file a complaint against what it sees as a disproportionate tax increase.
Around one in four adults in Germany smokes regularly. Last year, tobacco taxes contributed approximately 14.7 billion to the government’s coffers. The last time the tobacco tax was increased was in 2015.
June 13, 2021