Global Anti-Smoking Day - Call for Prohibition of Tobacco Products in Grocery Stores
In conjunction with World No Tobacco Day, a team of health organizations is urging for the sale of cigarettes in grocery stores and gas stations to be prohibited. Instead, tobacco products and e-cigarettes should only be purchasable at licensed specialty shops, as stated by Katrin Schaller from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in a discussion with the dpa in Heidelberg.
"Tobacco products remain too prevalent in daily life - people are exposed to the likelihood of buying them while waiting in line at grocery store checkouts or gas station pumps." Additionally, it is crucial to discontinue advertising at these spots. To date, advertising has been permitted at the point of sale.
The DKFZ has sent a letter to German Bundestag members of the traffic light coalition, along with the Action Alliance Against Smoking and other groups, demanding strong actions against tobacco use. In their agreement from 2021, the parties agreed to enhance regulations on marketing and sponsorship for nicotine. "Since then, insufficient action has been taken. The coalition has not delivered," said Schaller. Smoking cigarettes still inflicts significant health harm and thousands of fatalities each year. "The state must step up its efforts to minimize tobacco use."
Demand for Standardized Packaging
The DKFZ and other organizations are also advocating for unified packaging for tobacco products - brands should no longer be identifiable. "The packaging should all be olive green and have the brand name in the same font," explained Schaller. "The packaging serves as an advertising space that has no purpose in public - there should be standardized packaging." This same approach should be applied to tobacco heaters and e-cigarettes - they also pose health dangers, emphasized Schaller.
Online, there is already a ban on advertising for tobacco products and e-cigarettes. However, according to the DKFZ, there are frequently infractions of this ban. "E-cigarettes and tobacco heaters are still quite pervasive on social media," lamented Schaller. Especially children and young people can be influenced by this and desire to try these products. "The state must take a more assertive stance against these violations and implement the advertising ban on the internet."
The tobacco industry shakes its head at these demands from the anti-smoking lobby. Jan Mück from the Federal Association of the Tobacco Industry and New Products (BVTE) mentioned the fact that the advertising opportunities of the industry have been restricted since the start of the year. Now, e-cigarettes can no longer be advertised on posters. In light of the minimal public exposure of advertising at these locations, it is unreasonable to assume that additional restrictions will reduce the number of smokers, he asserted.
Additionally, Mück cautioned that merchants would suffer a loss of income with such an advertising restriction. He viewed the demand for uniform packaging as unconstitutional since it would eradicate trademarks and devalue ownership. In the judgment of industry representative Mück, no more bans are necessary; rather, the state should rigorously enforce existing laws. This particularly concerns the extensive consumption of e-cigarettes among young people. BVTE calls for the introduction of a reporting platform, where citizens could easily report violations to authorities.
The World No Tobacco Day on May 31st is being spearheaded by the World Health Organization to underscore the dangers of tobacco consumption. This year's commemoration is dedicated to "Safeguarding Children from the Influence of the Tobacco Industry."
