Trend becomes mass business – Germans spend more money on e-cigarettes – Health

Dortmund (dpa) – The e-cigarette business is picking up. Retailers and manufacturers made an estimated one billion euros in sales of the electronic devices and the associated liquids in Germany last year, around 25 percent more than in 2022, the Alliance for Tobacco-Free Enjoyment (BfTG) in Dortmund announced.

The Intertabac trade fair begins on Thursday (September 19) in the Ruhr city, where numerous e-cigarette companies will be presenting themselves alongside tobacco companies. With electronic cigarettes – also known as vapes or e-shishas – liquids are heated and the vapor is inhaled. Compared to conventional tobacco cigarettes, fewer harmful substances are released. But “vapes” also pose health risks – doctors advise smokers to quit completely instead of seeing e-cigarettes as the lesser evil and thus continuing to inhale harmful substances.

Strong growth for years

E-cigarettes were on the niche market for a long time, but they are now a mass business. According to the BfTG, sales increased by 40 percent in 2022 and 2023. The industry mouthpiece got its figures from member companies and from its own analyses. Now the growth has slowed somewhat to 25 percent, but it remains at a high level.

BfTG boss Dustin Dahlmann explained the growth by saying that the number of sales points has increased. “More and more points of sale outside of specialist retailers, such as petrol stations, supermarkets and kiosks, are now offering e-cigarettes and liquids,” he says. “That’s why there is more attention to the products and many smokers are switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes.” According to the BfTG, around 3 million people in Germany use e-cigarettes, 0.5 million more than a year ago.

Share of disposable items is decreasing

Disposable e-cigarettes, which are thrown away when their battery is empty, are controversial. They should actually be disposed of as electrical devices, but in reality they often end up in the residual waste or in the yellow bin, as representatives of the waste industry complain. This then poses a risk of fires in garbage trucks and disposal facilities if a short circuit occurs in the electrical devices and other waste lying next to them ignites. Environmentalists are also critical of the disposable products, as they ultimately waste raw materials.

According to the BfTG, the share of these disposable products in the overall e-cigarette market has fallen in recent years. While it was 40 percent in 2022, it was 30 percent in 2023. This year it is estimated to be only 20 percent. Industry representative Dahlmann expects the share of disposable products to continue to fall next year. An EU ban on such products will come into force in 2027.

In addition to disposable products, there are also reusable vapes, where the liquid cartridges (pods) are exchanged, and classic e-cigarettes, where users buy the liquids in small bottles or mix them themselves – the battery in these two products is rechargeable.

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Black market could increase

Industry representatives are worried about the upcoming tax increase, which will mean 26 cents in tobacco tax on one milliliter of liquid, six cents more than before. According to the BfTG, the tax burden on the usual 10-milliliter liquid, which currently costs roughly eight to ten euros, will increase to just under one euro.

The tax increase on liquids that will come into effect at the turn of the year is causing deep concern in the industry, as a survey by the BfTG among 300 e-cigarette companies in Germany revealed. Many of them fear that the tax-related price increase will lead to an increase in the black market. It is already strong; according to estimates by the companies, German citizens spend around 300 million euros on liquids and illegal e-cigarettes on the black market in Germany every year. “These products come from dubious sources, the quality is extremely questionable,” says Dahlmann. “For our legal dealers and manufacturers, this leads to a loss of sales that is painful.”

Despite the authorities’ efforts, the black market has hardly been contained because there is a lack of sufficient human and structural resources, complains Dahlmann. “Politicians are failing to take effective countermeasures here.”

© dpa-infocom, dpa:240914-930-232133/1