Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has ruled that empty replacement tanks for e-cigarettes may not be sold or delivered to children and young people. Retailers are required to verify the age of buyers before selling or dispatching the product, the court decided on Wednesday in Karlsruhe (Az. I ZR 106/25).
The ruling came as the result of a legal dispute between two retailers, both of which sell accessories and spare parts for electronic cigarettes, including empty replacement tanks that can be filled with e-liquid for vaping. The case was largely decided in favour of the claimant.
In June 2023, the claimant placed an order for a replacement tank with the defendant retailer and found that no age verification was carried out either at the point of ordering or at the point of delivery. The claimant considered this a violation of Germany's Youth Protection Act and took the matter to court.
The Bochum Regional Court and the Hamm Higher Regional Court both ruled in favour of the claimant, finding that replacement tanks do fall within the scope of the law. The Federal Court of Justice has now confirmed that ruling.
Germany's Youth Protection Act stipulates that electronic cigarettes and "their containers" may not be sold to children and young people. The central legal question in this case was whether empty replacement tanks qualify as "containers" under the meaning of the law.
The BGH concluded that they do. Replacement tanks for electronic cigarettes are solely intended and designed to be used for the consumption of e-liquids in e-cigarettes, the court reasoned. As such, they pose a health risk to children and young people even when they are empty.
Offering and delivering empty replacement tanks without age verification therefore constitutes an unfair commercial practice, the court found. Retailers must ensure, both at the point of sale and at the point of dispatch, that the tanks are not passed on to minors.
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