The discounter Lidl throws cigarettes off supermarket shelves in Denmark. The sales stop is intended to set an example.
Syke – Cigarettes at the supermarket checkout, a familiar picture. But probably no longer in Denmark: The food discounter Lidl has announced a sales stop in Germany's neighboring country. The first tobacco-free store will be opened in Hjørring, and all other new stores will not sell tobacco from the start, reports the Lebensmittel-Zeitung (LZ).
In the Netherlands, Lidl has stopped selling tobacco products since autumn 2021. Now Denmark is to follow suit.
Lidl stops tobacco sales: cigarettes fly off the shelves
In concrete terms, this means for consumers in Denmark that they will soon be able to buy cigarettes at Lidl or no more. The discounter wants to make all of its 2028 stores smoke-free by 139 and completely say goodbye to the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. According to the LZ report, a fifth of cigarette packs are already being removed from Lidl shelves.
What already works in Holland and will soon also apply in Denmark could also have consequences for other countries. Is Germany the next country where Lidl will stop selling tobacco products? This would not only be a change for consumers who like to pick up the packs of Marlboro, Goldfield Red or the rolling tobacco again at the discounter checkout.
Lidl stops the sale of cigarettes in Denmark: This is how Germany regulates it
The sales freeze in Germany would also have a direct impact on the tax authorities. After all, the state makes good money on the addiction of smokers. The Ministry of Finance estimates the annual revenue from tobacco tax at around 14.7 billion euros, although the revenue – on an annual basis – has tended to decline in recent years. This is certainly one of the reasons why the tobacco tax has risen since the beginning of 2023.
One of the fattest sources of tax in the state
The tobacco tax is one of the fattest tax sources of the federal government and ranks third after the energy tax and the solidarity surcharge. In the first quarter of this year, Germany took in around 2.8 billion euros. In the same quarter of the previous year, the figure was around 2.4 billion euros. (Source: Federal Ministry of Finance, tax revenues as of April 19, 2023).
In comparison, in the first quarter of 2023, the Ministry of Finance collected around 4.4 billion euros with the energy tax and the solidarity surcharge around 2.9 billion euros throughout Germany.
Smoking is unhealthy. Nevertheless, many consumers regularly reach for cigarettes. (Symbolic image) © imago
Lidl stops tobacco sales: German tax authorities ask smokers to pay more
The German tax authorities justify the "adjustment" of the tax rates for tobacco products with the "health protection for young people and adolescents". For the first time, liquids will also be taxed. For example, the tax on ten milliliters of liquid is to rise first to two euros plus 19 percent VAT, then to 2.60 euros plus VAT and from 2026 the tax is to be raised to 3.20 euros plus VAT, reports Südkurier.de. This is a demand that the Action Alliance for Non-Smoking has long made to politicians. So far, according to the alliance, only VAT has been levied on liquids.
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The new tobacco tax: everything that is thought to be a cigarette is now taxed
Anyone who smokes will be asked to pay: Since January 2023, ten cents in tax have been added to the average price of 7.60 euros per box; it is now 7.70 euros. By 2026, according to the Ministry of Finance, there will be a "regular, moderate increase in tariffs for cigarettes and fine-cuts". The tax on a pack of 20 cigarettes is expected to rise by an average of about eight cents per year. The tax on fine-cut, i.e. tobacco that is used, for example, for rolling cigarettes yourself, is to rise by an average of about 13 to 16 cents per year. In 2025 and 2026, cigarettes will then become 15 cents more expensive per pack.
The higher tax rate will also apply to vaporizers, so-called "heat-not-burn" products. The Ministry of Finance informs that the tax adjustment is also necessary for reasons of health and youth protection due to the existing risk potential of nicotine-containing products and substances. Heat-not-burn products would therefore be treated the same as cigarettes for tax purposes: "What consumers think is a cigarette will also be taxed like a cigarette from January 1, 2022."
E-cigarettes are taxed for the first time with the "Tobacco Modernization Act". According to the Ministry of Finance: "For nicotine-containing liquids for use in e-cigarettes, the tax rate will initially be 2022.2023 euros per milligram of nicotine in 0 (from July) and 02. It will not be until 2024 that the tax rate will be increased to 0.04 euros per milligram of nicotine."
Lidl stops tobacco sales: fight against cancer more important than loss of sales
In Holland, Lidl has actively contributed to making a non-smoking generation possible, the company said when introducing the sales ban in the Netherlands in 2021. Lidl is thus the first retail chain to pre-empt a ban on the sale of supermarkets announced by the government: From 2024, tobacco products in the Netherlands may only be offered at petrol stations as well as in specialist shops, newsstands and other shops licensed for this purpose. Since this year, sales on the Internet have also been banned. It is also important to know that smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products in the Netherlands is only allowed in specially separated rooms.
In Denmark, all young people born after 2010 will no longer be allowed to smoke. This is the plan of the Danish government. Because apparently the (young) Danes smoke too much. Currently, tobacco products in Denmark have a minimum selling age of 18 years. According to the LZ report, Lidl sees itself on the right track to a smoke-free future with its plan to stop tobacco sales in the neighboring state. Allegedly, the fight against cancer is more important to the discounter than loss of sales, reports derwesten.de, citing a Danish news agency.
In response to a request from kreiszeitung.de of IPPEN. MEDIA, whether Lidl also throws tobacco products off the shelves in Germany, a press officer replied: "At the moment, we are not planning any changes in the range of our tobacco range." Whether this will change at some point remains to be seen.
