German cigarette tax revenues rise for the first time since 2019, with 66.2 billion sticks taxed in 2024, a 3.5% increase from the previous year. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this marks the first year-on-year increase in cigarette tax revenues since 2019.
Compared to the 146.5 billion sticks taxed in 1991, the cigarette market has declined by more than half in the long term. The per capita consumption of cigarettes in 2024 was 784, a significant drop from the 1,831 in 1991.
The quantity of fine-cut tobacco subject to tax increased by 6.7% in 2024 to 25,152 tons, while the sale of cigars and cigarillos rose by 0.2% to 2.3 billion units. The increase in cigarette and fine-cut tobacco sales in 2024 is primarily due to a prepayment effect: Due to the tobacco tax increase on January 1, 2025, manufacturers had to order advance tax stamps for new tax rates or products intended for sale in 2025.
The sale of waterpipe tobacco, on the other hand, showed a significant increase of 75.1% to 1,274 tons, driven by the lifting of the 25-gram packaging limit for small packs on July 1, 2024. The sales of waterpipe tobacco almost quadrupled in the second half of the year compared to the first half, from 259 to 1,015 tons.
In contrast, the sale of classic pipe tobacco decreased by 21.1% to 314 tons. The quantity of tax-subjected substitutes for tobacco products, such as liquids for e-cigarettes or vapes, increased by 3.5% to 1.3 million liters in 2024.
Different tobacco products and substitutes are subject to different tax rates, which are to be increased stepwise over time, as stipulated in the Tobacco Tax Act. A separate tax rate for waterpipe tobacco and heated tobacco was introduced on January 1, 2022 and for liquids, the tax was first levied on July 1, 2022. The current version of the Tobacco Tax Act regulates the different tax rates until 2027.