As of: February 10, 2024, 8:56 a.m
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A man smokes a shisha hookah in a hookah bar.
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
Smoking hookahs was trendy for years, and more and more shisha bars opened in cities.
There are an estimated 1,000 in North Rhine-Westphalia.
But now their economic prospects are bleak.
Berlin/Düsseldorf - According to an industry association, the shisha industry is threatened with a wave of bankruptcies this year in North Rhine-Westphalia.
“If the federal government does not change course and overturn a senseless packaging regulation, one in three or one in four shisha bars will probably be closed by the end of this year,” said the managing director of the Federal Association of Water Pipe Tobacco, Folke Rega, to the German Press Agency in Berlin.
This presumed share applies to the federal government, but also to North Rhine-Westphalia.
He was referring to conversations with bar operators and retailers who reported a sharp drop in demand for legal tobacco.
There have already been some store closures.
The economic situation among manufacturers and retailers is very tense, and there is even an “acute” threat of insolvency.
The regulation introduced in mid-2022 states that shisha tobacco may only be sold in single can packaging and no longer in large containers.
According to the association's estimates, this has roughly doubled the price.
To save money, many consumers bought illegal products.
They inhaled at home and no longer in a shisha bar.
“Black market products are dangerous, they are not subject to state food controls and contain contaminated tobacco and banned substances,” warned Rega.
A look at the tax statistics for the whole of Germany confirms the poor state of the shisha industry.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, tax stamps were issued for 727 tons of water pipe tobacco in 2023, significantly less than in 2022 (893 tons).
This is the net value, after deduction of refunds.
Compared to 2021 - the year before the packaging regulations were introduced - according to the General Customs Directorate, there were 6,897 tons.
dpa