Federal Drug Commissioner Hendrik Streeck (CDU) is demanding that any revenue generated from raising the tobacco tax must be earmarked for specific purposes. Speaking to the “Bild” (Wednesday edition), Streeck argued that “tobacco tax cannot become silent household restructuring”. He stressed that since tobacco causes illness, addiction, and significant healthcare costs, any additional tax income should be directed into the healthcare system where the negative consequences appear. According to Streeck, the funds must be specifically utilized for “prevention, smoking cessation, [and] treatment”.
Support for this view has come from the SPD. Christos Pantazis, the SPD parliamentary group’s health policy spokesperson, told the “Bild” that questioning these ‘steering taxes’ (Lenkungssteuern) now, particularly in reaction to the potential loss of the €1,000 bonus, would be a health policy mistake. He asserted that duties on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar serve not only to consolidate the budget but, crucially, possess an important preventive steering effect.
Despite this strong emphasis on prevention, Pantazis also suggested that a portion of the tobacco tax revenue could be used to ease the strain on the statutory health insurance contributors. He proposed utilizing some of the tobacco tax proceeds “to relieve the burden on the contribution payers”.