Discounters and supermarkets keep changing their range - but now Lidl has even banned a whole range of products from the shelves.
Going to the trusted supermarket quickly after work and knowing blindly where to reach is a matter of course for many Germans. Because discounters and other food retailers such as Edeka, Kaufland * or Rewe are often structured according to a certain scheme F and thus ensure the usual shopping experience, no matter where you are. But every now and then discounters change their structure - or they say goodbye to well-known products. That has now also happened at Lidl *, as
reported by echo24.de
*.
Since Friday, the Neckarsulm-based discounter has stopped selling tobacco products in its 400 branches in the Netherlands - so no cigarettes and no loose tobacco either.
A press release from Lidl states: “Lidl is actively helping to make a
generation of
non-smokers possible.” As the
editorial network Germany rnd
reports, Lidl Nederland is supporting an initiative of several health organizations with this campaign.
Lidl: 400 branches have removed cigarettes from their range - for an important reason
The aim of this initiative is now "to give children the chance to grow up smoke-free and to protect them from the harmful effects of passive smoking and from being tempted to smoke." The government in The Hague, for example, praised the tobacco stop at Lidl in the Netherlands. According to the Dutch news agency
ANP
, State Secretary for Health Paul Blokhuis said it was hoped that more supermarket chains would soon follow suit.
But even in this country it happens again and again that well-known products can suddenly no longer be found on the shelves of well-known discounters such as Lidl.
A current example: The branded products of the Coca-Cola Company could soon disappear completely from discounters *.
The reason is a planned price increase by the Coca-Cola Group, which Lidl and Aldi are not doing well.
If the beverage manufacturer does not give in, it could even be that the discounters kick the brand out of the range completely.
This had already happened to Haribo and Barilla in the meantime.
Lidl: Is the discounter also banning cigarettes from German branches?
But could the ban on cigarettes also affect German customers? In the near future, this is considered rather unlikely, because in the Netherlands the change of heart at the Neckarsulm discounter is probably due to the fact that the Netherlands passed a law that bans the sale of tobacco products in supermarkets from 2024. Our neighbors only sell cigarettes in uniform boxes, and there is a smoking ban in restaurants, pubs and cafes - coffee shops are
exempt
from this, according to
bild.de.
The Dutch law also contains a further step-by-step plan - cigarette machines are to be banned there in 2022, followed by online sales in 2023.
From 2024 it will also be prohibited to offer tobacco products in supermarkets.
Lidl probably wanted to forestall this law.
The Neckarsulm-based company announced its tobacco stop for the Netherlands in 2018.
Since then, the cigarettes have gradually disappeared from the branches.
All 400 Lidl branches in the Netherlands have been cigarette-free since October 1, 2021.
*
echo24.de
is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
List of rubric lists: © Jens Kalaene / dpa
