How will the tobacco tax reform change smoking in Germany in 2027?

Update: Members of the Bundestag have now passed the tobacco tax reform.

The German government’s tobacco tax reform has cleared another legislative hurdle and is likely to take effect in the new year. How will it change smoking in Germany in 2027?

Bundestag committee approves tobacco reform

Bundestag committees have approved Germany’s tobacco tax reform, which is expected to face little opposition in the Bundesrat, paving the way for parliamentary approval and implementation by the new year.

Under the reform, the government will significantly increase tobacco taxes between 2027 and 2030. According to Numbeo, the average price of a packet of 20 cigarettes currently sits at 8,50 euros. 

The tobacco tax increase would raise the average price of a 20-pack to 8,77 euros in 2027, 9,56 euros in 2028, 10,42 euros in 2029, and 11,36 euros in 2030, according to the draft law.

The reform will also raise taxes on other tobacco products, including rolling tobacco, pipe tobacco, heated tobacco, water pipe tobacco, and tobacco substitutes such as vapes.

The CDU/CSU-SPD government estimates the reform will bring an additional 1,5 billion euros into public coffers in the coming year and a total of 4,31 billion euros by 2030. This new estimate is 750 million euros over the estimate initially given in the draft law.

“The amendment to the law also serves to protect public health and is in line with the sustainability goals of reducing smoking rates amongst young people and adults,” the government said.

German Medical Association welcomes tobacco reform

Speaking to the Katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur, president of the German Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer), Klaus Reinhardt, said the reform was an important step for health protection. 

Smoking remains the biggest avoidable cause of illness and premature death, and puts pressure on our healthcare system with high costs every year, Reinhardt added.

According to Eurostat, 24 percent of the German population aged 15 and over smoke regularly, the same as the average across the bloc. Bulgaria (37 percent) and Greece (36 percent) are the EU countries where smoking is most common. 

In EU countries with stricter smoking regulations, a much smaller percentage of the population are smokers, such as Sweden (8 percent) and the Netherlands (11 percent).

Germany’s smoking regulations also fare pretty badly by international comparison. In its ninth annual report on global tobacco consumption, the World Health Organisation (WHO) criticised the federal republic for being comparatively slow to implement preventive policies over the past 15 years.