The number of young smokers in Germany is high. Especially during the corona pandemic, it rose rapidly. Critics accuse the federal government of not doing enough for prevention.
An everyday life without a cigarette? Unimaginable for law student Loui from Berlin. He took up tobacco for the first time at the age of 14: “I started because my older friends also smoked at the time,” says the 19-year-old. Almost everyone in his current circle of friends smoked. For him there is something “cool” about smoking.
This attitude is also reflected in surveys: In December, the German survey on smoking behavior (DEBRA) showed that smoking has become more popular again. There has been a clear downward trend in recent years.
The figures for 14 to 17 year olds are alarming: Although this age group is not yet allowed to buy any tobacco products, the proportion rose from 8.7 percent (2021) to 15.9 percent (2022), i.e. almost doubled.
For years there has been the highest proportion of smokers among 18 to 24 year olds – it is now more than 40 percent. It is unclear why this trend is currently emerging. Possible reasons could be the corona pandemic and the resulting stress for young people or alternative products such as vapes and e-cigarettes.
Disgusting pictures and advertising bans
There have been fundamental changes in tobacco control in Germany over the past few decades. Tobacco advertising on TV, radio and the Internet is banned – in 2022 it was also banned from billboards, advertising pillars and bus stops. Cigarette packs are now not only adorned with deterrent texts such as “Smoking causes 9 out of 10 lung carcinomas”, but also sometimes very explicit pictures showing the health consequences of smoking.
But 19-year-old Loui mostly tapes these pictures off: “I find them disgusting – I don’t want to think about it.” Loui is well aware of the harmfulness of cigarette smoke. When he looks at the heavily discolored filter after smoking a cigarette, he gets a bad feeling.
WHO recommends six measures
For the head of the DEBRA study, Daniel Kotz from the University Hospital Düsseldorf, it is clear: Germany is not doing enough to discourage people from smoking. “There are effective measures by the World Health Organization to protect young people in particular from the consumption and harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine products.” All you need is the will and the courage to implement these measures, says the researcher. Young people in particular need to be protected so that they don’t even reach for a cigarette.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a total of six measures to make smoking unattractive. This includes, for example, a comprehensive advertising ban that also excludes sponsoring. According to critics, Germany could readjust here – the German Non-Smoking Protection Association fears, for example, that tobacco companies will enter into covert cooperation with social media influencers so that they present nicotine products in a positive way.
According to the WHO, offers for quitting smoking and education about the harmful effects should also be made available. The most effective, however, is a high tobacco tax – since it is passed on from the industry to the consumer. This would make smoking more expensive for many people, possibly too expensive.
tobacco tax comparatively small amount
A pack of 20 cigarettes costs eight euros on average in Germany. This accounted for around 3.40 euros in taxes. For comparison: In France, the tax is twice as high. The lack of measures is also made clear by the “Tobacco Control Scale” – a monitoring program that is funded by the health program of the European Union, among others. Germany came in 34th out of 37.
Ireland, the UK and France are the leaders in tobacco regulation. A pack of 20 cigarettes costs at least €10 in France, over €13 in the UK and around €14 in Ireland. In addition, cigarettes in these countries can only be sold in neutral boxes and without brand logos. The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) also calls for neutral packaging for tobacco products in Germany, because such measures seem to work.
In Ireland, neutral packaging has been mandatory since September 2018. Since then, the number of smokers has steadily decreased. During the corona pandemic, there was a slight increase again. Most recently, however, only 1.7 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds and 16.3 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds smoked in Ireland. Significantly less is smoked in Great Britain and France than in Germany.
Tax increase: yes, no, maybe?
The Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drugs, Burkhard Blienert, sees a fundamental need for action: “We have rested on our laurels on the apparent successes of the last ten years. Now we must finally take action,” said the SPD politician recently in the ARD lunchtime magazine. However, he repeatedly avoided the question of possible tax increases for tobacco products – it was not up to him alone to make this decision.
In principle, Blienert was open to higher taxation of tobacco products and would also like to lead this discussion openly. It is absolutely necessary to get back into the price debate. However, he did not want to answer which politicians or parties are currently blocking this discussion.
In his opinion, any additional income from a tax increase should flow directly into further preventive measures to protect young people in particular from smoking. For Blienert, however, the sponsorship of tobacco products is currently the core problem that he would like to tackle in his work as addiction and drug officer.
Protection for minors
19-year-old Loui believes that a higher tobacco tax makes sense: “If a box cost 20 euros, I wouldn’t be able to continue smoking.”
Above all, it is important to him that there is better protection for minors. He has experienced several times that the age was not properly controlled. “I had a Späti seller behind whom there was a surveillance camera. He then said: ‘Just put any card on the table for me so that it looks as if I was checking your identity card'”. However, he doubts whether Loui would have stopped smoking with more education and better controls.