Higher tobacco tax: Federal government wants to make smoking more expensive - manufacturers are going on the barricades

Smoking will not increase tobacco tax will make smoking more expensive.

It is unclear whether the tax reform will drastically increase the price of e-cigarettes and vaporizers.

Berlin - In Germany, around one in four adults still regularly uses a cigarette, despite the health risks.

But smoking will soon become more expensive.

Because the Bundestag wants to pass a reform of the tobacco tax in June.

The discussions on this are in full swing.

The last time the tobacco tax screw was turned in 2015.

What is certain is that smokers will have to dig deeper into their pockets in the future.

It is still unclear how high the inflation will be.

According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, eight cents more will be due for each pack of cigarettes from 2022 to 2026.

The tax plus would be 2.5 percent.

Federal government increases tobacco tax: Critics want stronger tax increases

It is very likely that tobacco manufacturers will pass the tax increase on to consumers.

In order to avoid change, the industry could even add ten cents.

A pack of branded cigarettes currently costs around seven euros.

For reform critics like Monika Schaller from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), that is not enough.

In order to induce smokers to quit, or even to prevent them from starting smoking, she advocates an increase of at least ten percent.

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The state wants to drastically increase the tax on e-cigarettes and vaporizers

© Scoropland / www.imago-images.

Federal government increases tobacco tax: e-cigarettes and vaporizers so far preferred for tax purposes

There is a great potential for conflict with e-cigarettes, which vaporize a nicotine-containing liquid, and with "heat-not-burn" products, which only heat real tobacco instead of burning it.

Both product groups are treated differently in terms of tax law.

So far, no tobacco tax has to be paid for e-cigarettes, only value added tax is due.

Now a separate tax rate is to be introduced for them.

According to the "Alliance for Tobacco-Free Enjoyment", in which e-cigarette companies have come together, the price for a cigarette equivalent would increase from 22 to 57 cents by 2025.

However, this was based on a high dose of nicotine.

If the liquid contains less nicotine, the tax increase and thus the price increase will be lower.

Tobacco heaters have so far been subject to the lower pipe tobacco tax.

A special tax is now to be levied on them in order to match them to the cigarette.

According to calculations by tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris, the tax burden would almost quadruple.

Federal government increases tobacco tax: dispute over tax on e-cigarettes and vaporizers

Manufacturers such as Philip Morris and British American Tobacco are upset that tobacco heaters will be taxed much more heavily in the future.

They claim that their products (Iqos and Glo) emit 90 to 95 percent fewer harmful or potentially harmful substances than cigarettes.

However, there are currently no long-term studies in order to be able to clearly assess the health risk.

It is also feared that, similar to cigarettes, a black market for tobacco heaters and e-cigarettes could develop.

Because the illegal business is more financially worthwhile, the supply could increase.

Federal government increases tobacco tax: Shisha tobacco is also to be taxed higher

The reform is not yet in the dry cloths. Because the reporters of the government coalition, Sebastian Brehm (CSU) and Michael Schrodi (SPD), can imagine a more significant increase in the tobacco tax on conventional cigarettes. They are also in favor of higher taxation of the water pipe tobacco used for shisha. “Shishas are particularly attractive to young people. They can be the entry point to cigarette smoking, ”says Schrodi. The SPD man compared shishas with alcopops, the sweet alcoholic mixed drinks that young people can get used to drinking alcohol. After alcopops were subject to a special tax almost two decades ago, they have virtually disappeared from the market.

Criticism comes from the opposition.

With regard to e-cigarettes, Till Mansmann from the FDP finds it “incomprehensible from a health policy point of view, which is why the least harmful product should experience by far the greatest tax jump”.

The Green Stefan Schmidt warns that the planned tax jump for e-cigarettes and tobacco heaters will prevent consumers from switching to less harmful tobacco products.

(mhof / dpa)

List of rubric lists: © Scoropland via www.imago-images.