Tag: Germany

E-Cigarette 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 in 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 a least 10 percent to make a significant dent in smoking. The increases approved by the Bundesrat amount to 3 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 Passes Bill to Raise Vapor, HnB Taxes
Vapers and cigarette smokers alike will be paying more for those products after the German Bundestag signed off on a bill to raise taxes on combustible cigarettes, e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn (HnB) tobacco products.
Credit: Craig
On Friday morning, the Bundestag waved through legislation to make vaping in Germany more expensive as of next year. Legislators are coming down hard on e-cigarettes HnB products which were previously only lightly taxed. That will change in the future, as the government moves to tax even nicotine-free varieties of e-cigarettes.
Currently, a 10-millilitre bottle of vape liquid costs around 5 euros in Germany. In 2022, an extra 1.60 euros will be added to this price in taxation, and this will rise to 3.20 euros by 2026. An additional tax is also to be introduced for HnB products so that those products will be treated similarly to cigarettes for tax purposes.
The new law has been met with dismay by the manufacturers of vaping products who argue that their products contain significantly fewer harmful substances than tobacco cigarettes and should therefore not be subject to the same levels of taxation. The Association of the E-Cigarette Trade (VdeH) warned that the move might prompt vapers to revert to smoking tobacco cigarettes.
The so-called “Alliance for Tobacco-Free Enjoyment” – a representative body for the e-cigarette industry – said that it intends to go to the Federal Constitutional Court to file a complaint against what it sees as a disproportionate tax increase.
Also, the combustible tobacco tax on a packet of 20 cigarettes will rise by an average of 10 cents in 2021. A year later, a further 10 cents will be added, and in both 2025 and 2026 another 15 cents per pack will be added.
Around one in four adults in Germany smokes regularly, meaning that the tobacco tax is a big source of revenue for the government. Last year, it swelled the government’s coffers to the tune of approximately 14.7 billion euros. The last time the tobacco tax was increased was in 2015.
June 11, 2021
Trade Body Slams German Vapor Tax

Photo: katatonia
The German association for the e-cigarette trade VdeH has sharply criticized the passage by specialist committees in Parliament of a tobacco tax reform bill that calls for significant tax hikes on vapor products including nicotine-free variants.
The plans will not only boost the black market but also destroy numerous small and medium-sized businesses, according to VdeH.
“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.

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.
Michal Dobrajc, managing director, VdeH
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.”
June 10, 2021
Vape Group to Protest German E-Liquid Tax Plans

Photo: Nikolaus Bader from Pixabay
Germany planned e-cigarette tax is a health policy disaster that will destroy jobs and boost black market sales without generating significant additional revenues, according to the country’s e-cigarette Trade association VdeH.
Under the plans, e-liquids will attract a tax of €4 per 10 mL bottle from July 1, 2022. On Jan. 1, 2024, the tax will increase to €8 plus VAT, i.e. €9.52 per 10 mL bottle. Based on an average sales price of about €5 per bottle, this amounts to a tripling of the retail price, says VdeH.
On April 21, the VdeH plans to protest the plans by projecting statements from scientists and consumers supporting its position on a 20 x 35 meter “hydro shield” at the Reichstag waterfront in Berlin.
“The planned excessive taxation means that the 95 percent less harmful e-cigarette will soon be more expensive than conventional cigarettes,” says Michal Dobrajc, managing chairman of the VdeH in a press note. “With 11 million smokers still in Germany, the e-cigarette is the greatest health policy opportunity we have–we must use it. The planned tax would have exactly the opposite effect.”
The tax plans, which fail to consider the expected market slump of 50 percent when calculating tax revenue, would take the level of vapor product taxation in Germany to five times the EU average, according to the VdeH.
The law would not only shift consumption back to more harmful tobacco cigarettes, but also sacrifice the entire industry to the black market, the trade group cautions.
April 19, 2021
Intertabac Show Cancelled for Second Straight Year
The Intertabac and Intersupply 2021 trade shows, the largest combined vaping and other tobacco product industry events, will not take place due to the ongoing coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. Billed as the world’s largest tobacco trade show, the event was scheduled to take place Sept. 16-18, 2021 in Dortmund, Germany. Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe, the owner of the Intertabac show, announced today that the event is cancelled after talking with exhibitors and sponsors.
“Working closely with the industry associations and partner associations, the conceptual sponsors, the advisory board and the exhibitors of the twin fairs, it has become clear that the vast majority is against holding the events this September, as previously announced,” said Sabine Loos, managing director for Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe, in a statement.
Intertabac showcases nearly every product that is associated with consuming nicotine, from vaping products and combustible cigarettes to machine-made and premium cigars, pipes, shisha, smokeless and other tobacco-related products. In 2019, 13,800 people attended the event which had over 500 exhibitors from 47 countries according to Intertabac.
Last year’s event was also cancelled. The dates for Intertabac 2022 is scheduled for Sept. 15-17, 2022, according to Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe .
March 25, 2021
Germany: Plans For Vapor Taxation a ‘Disaster’

Photo: Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
Plans by Germany’s governing coalition to tax vapor products are a disaster for public health and the economy, according to the country’s e-cigarette trade association, VdeH. The move will make vapor products more expensive than combustible cigarettes, which are widely acknowledged to be considerably more harmful to health.
Under the plans, e-liquids will attract a tax of €4 per 10 mL bottle from July 1, 2022. On Jan. 1, 2024, the tax will increase to €8 plus VAT, i.e. €9.52 per 10 mL bottle. Based on an average sales price of about €5 per bottle, this amounts to a tripling of the retail price, says VdeH.
“These tax plans leave you stunned, and one initially suspects a calculation error,” said Michal Dobrajc, executive chairman of the VdeH, in a statement. Such a price increase, he added, could only have been passed with the intention to kill off vaping.
While not opposing e-cigarette taxation as such, the VdeH said fiscal measures should weigh the risks of vaping against those of smoking. Based on what is known about those relative risks, the tax on vapor products should not exceed 5 percent of that on tobacco products, according to the association. The governing coalition’s plans amount to 75 percent of the tobacco tax in Germany.
The VdeH urged the German government to heed the experience of other countries.
A similar tax policy in Italy caused the vapor market to collapse even as tobacco sales increased. Tax collections shriveled and the black market thrived. The Italian government was eventually forced to reduce the tax burden on vapor products by 90 percent. Estonia and Hungary had comparable experiences.
The biggest losers of the governing coalition’s plans, according to the VdeH, are former smokers who successfully quit their habit with the help of e-cigarettes and current smokers who will not attempt to switch under the new tax regime. A police union has already described the tax plans as a “startup for smugglers,” the association noted.
March 5, 2021
Germany to Tax Vapor Based on Amount of Nicotine

Photo: Theerapan Bhumirat | Dreamstime.com
The German government has proposed a new tax for nicotine-containing vapor products, which would be effective in summer 2022.
The new tax is “a response to current market developments.” It would include a tax of €0.02 ($0.02) per mg of nicotine for e-liquids, effective July 1, 2022. Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, the tax would double by the end of 2026.
“This is appropriate for reasons of fair taxation since only nicotine-containing substances in e-cigarettes are to be regarded as substitutes for cigarettes,” the draft of the proposed Tobacco Tax Modernization Act states. Authorities are also justifying the decision based on the “existing risk potential” of vapor products compared to traditional tobacco products.
“They are not harmless consumer products and can cause serious illnesses,” the draft bill states.
Lawmakers expect the new tax to bring in €135 million in 2022 and up to €2.9 billion by 2026.
The German Alliance for Tobacco-free Pleasure (BfTG) says the plan “makes no sense.”
“The tax would make smoking cheaper than vaping and make e-liquids many times more expensive,” BfTG chairman Dustin Dahlmann told ECigIntelligence, warning that it could lead to a flourishing black market and a collapsing legal industry, such as in Italy and Estonia. The BfTG believes taxation should be left at the EU level.
Currently, vapor products are not specially taxed. They are subject to the 19 percent value-added tax, however.
A decision is expected by the end of 2021.
February 18, 2021
Juul Labs to Exit Germany

Photo: Juul Labs
Juul Labs will withdraw from Germany at the end of the year, reports W&V, citing a company spokesman in Hamburg.
The company said it needed to set priorities in to be successful in the long term. “In this way one can invest in research and development and future products in core markets,” it stated.
German consumers will be able to purchase Juul products until stocks run out.
Following a wave of layoffs, Juul’s German subsidiary had only about a dozen employees left, which have now been terminated, as well.
Juul had already exited Austria this summer and plans to leave Switzerland soon.
The company, which enjoyed great success in the United States until a regulatory backlash, has found it challenging to crack the European market due to EU limits on nicotine.
Juul products sold in the EU contain significantly lower doses of nicotine than those on the U.S. market, making it difficult for them to compete against combustible cigarettes in Europe.
Recently, Juul was also forced to temporarily halt shipments in Germany because its packages were missing a mandatory recycling symbol.
October 19, 2020
Non-nicotine Vapes in Germany Face New Regulations
CBD vaping manufacturers and retailers in Germany will now be regulated starting in January after recent changes to the country’s tobacco law.
Under legislation passed by the German Bundestag on July 2, non-nicotine e-cigarettes and refillable containers will be regulated the way that their nicotine counterparts are, and additional advertising restrictions will apply to all vaping products, regardless of nicotine content, according to hempindustrydaily.com.
photo: Jeremynathan | Dreamstime
THC products in Germany are considered narcotics and fall under different rules entirely. “Many of my clients offer CBD-containing liquids for e-cigarettes and are concerned about the changes,” said Julia Seestaedt, a Hamburg-based attorney for the cannabis industry. “At the moment, manufacturers and retailers are most concerned about the comprehensive advertising ban associated with the change.”
According to Peter Homberg, who heads the European cannabis practice for Dentons Europe LLP in Berlin, the new legislation is just one facet of an increasingly restrictive market for all CBD products in Germany. “German regulation is very strict on CBD products, and it is to be expected that this will not change in the future,” Homberg said.
The German CBD retail landscape, he said, is markedly different than in the U.S. “It’s not as free as in the U.S. It is a very wide-open liberal market in the U.S., but we don’t have that here in Germany, despite the fact that there are products available on the market.”
With Germany set to put non-nicotine vapes on equal footing with their nicotine counterparts, these rules will soon apply to CBD vape manufacturers as well. Subjecting nicotine-free vape products to the same requirements and restrictions as their nicotine counterparts was “necessary to protect consumers from damage to their health,” the draft text reads.
Lawmakers wrote that the new advertising bans for CBD and other non-nicotine vape products were created in part to shield children from their influence. The legislation’s new restriction on outdoor advertising dictates that ads can be displayed only in shop windows or on exterior walls at retail stores that sell the products in question.
This means that “manufacturers will no longer be able to advertise nicotine-free CBD vapes on sidewalk advertising columns or billboards,” Seestaedt noted.
The changes are set to take effect beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, though outdoor advertising restrictions don’t take effect until 2024.
Non-nicotine e-cigarettes or refillable containers that were manufactured or placed on the market and labelled before Jan. 1, 2021 and complied with earlier provisions may remain on the market until March 31, 2021, according to the legislation.
August 13, 2020