On World No Tobacco Day this Sunday, Germany's Federal Drug Commissioner Hendrik Streeck of the CDU has called for substantially higher prices on cigarettes and disposable e-cigarettes, commonly known as vapes. In an interview with the Rheinische Post published on Sunday, Streeck said the cost of these products must rise noticeably.
"Higher prices keep young people in particular from starting and help many smokers quit. It is cynical to reject a significant increase in the tobacco tax with the argument that fewer people would then smoke and revenues could therefore decline," Streeck said. That is "not a revenue shortfall anyone should lament. It is a public health success that must be achieved."
SPD health policy spokesperson Christos Pantazis backed Streeck's demand. "Higher prices and consistent tobacco taxation can demonstrably prevent young people from ever starting to smoke," he said, adding that there must be "an honest conversation about the price of tobacco and nicotine products." "What matters is this: it is not about additional state revenue but about fewer addictions, less cancer, and more healthy years of life," Pantazis said.
CDU/CSU health policy spokesperson Simone Borchardt called for "honesty" about the financing. "If tobacco tax and levies on nicotine products are raised, that money must not simply vanish into the general federal budget," she told the paper. "Following the polluter-pays principle, a fair share must go to the health fund, because the long-term costs of smoking are ultimately borne by insured individuals, employers, and our healthcare system."
The push for stronger tobacco regulation comes on the heels of the Drug Affinity Study 2025, released on Tuesday by the Federal Institute for Public Health (BIÖG). The study found that smoking and vaping rates among young people in Germany are continuing to climb. Across all age groups, however, the overall share of smokers in the country has remained largely unchanged.
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