2020 Tobacco Atlas in Germany: Worrying Situation

The 2020 Tobacco Atlas in Germany[1] was presented on the occasion of the 18th German Tobacco Control Conference on December 2, 2020 in Heidelberg by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). This report provides an overview of the extent of smoking, the consequences of tobacco consumption and the implementation of strategies to reduce the harm caused by smoking in Germany.

According to the DKFZ, 127,000 people die each year in Germany, including 85,000 from cancer, as a result of tobacco use (13% of deaths). More than one in five Germans over the age of 18 is a smoker (23% of the population), and among 12- to 17-year-olds the prevalence is 5.5%. Significant differences are observed between the different federal states (21% in Saarland and 28% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania).

Germany lags behind its European neighbors in tobacco control

According to researchers from the DKFZ and the 2019 Tobacco Control SurveyGermany ranks poorly in the EU in terms of tobacco control and prevention. Since the implementation of effective tobacco control measures between 2000 and 2009, little has been achieved, with the exception of the implementation of the EU Tobacco Products Directive.

• Tobacco taxes have not been increased significantly and effectively: on average in 2007 a pack of 20 cigarettes cost 5.90^€ and at 6.77^€ in 2018;
• There is no comprehensive legislation covering tobacco/smoke-free spaces and the laws contain significant exemptions;
• Germany has long remained the only EU country allowing tobacco advertising on billboards, with a ban decided from September 2020 but with long transition periods;
• Health warnings on packages were introduced following European Directive 2014/40/EU and not by government initiative, and plain packaging is not envisaged.

Associations and politicians continue their partnerships with the tobacco industry

The DKFZ and the German NGO "Unfair tobacco " denounced, during the Conference, the tobacco industry's use of the covid 19 pandemic to improve its image and the continuation of its cooperation with certain Länder or associations in 2020[2]In Hamburg, for example, the cigarette manufacturer Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken GmbH supports several associations that help the most vulnerable populations (Diakonisches Werk Hamburg, Caritas, Alimaus, Hinz & Kunzt).[3], with a partnership of up to 300,000^E planned until mid-2021. Another example is Berlin using Philip Morris premises free of charge to store protective equipment against the Covid19 pandemic. Unfairtobacco reminds that these actions are flagrant violations of Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention for the Anti-Tobacco Convention, which Germany has signed and ratified, and which aims to remove the influence of tobacco companies on political action.

Keywords: Germany, Tobacco Atlas, 2020 ©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] German Cancer Research Center, Schaller, Katrin & Kahnert, Sarah & Graen, Laura & Mons, Ute & Ouedraogo, Nobila. (2020). Tobacco Atlas Germany 2020 [2] Official Statement from Unfairtobacco, 1^er December 2020, accessed December 23, 2020 [3] Dank erneuter Großspende von Reemtsma: Schutz für Hamburger Obdachlose in Hotels, Reemtsa, December 1, 2020, accessed on December 23, 2020 National Committee Against Smoking |