Tobacco lobby's "smoke alarms" for youth protection and against illegal vapes

On today's World No Tobacco Day, of all days, the tobacco industry is staging itself as a champion of youth protection. With vape-kontrolle.de, the industry association Bundesverband der Tabakwirtschaft und neuartiger Erzeugnisse (BVTE) is launching a special kind of "smoke detector". Official goals: To strengthen youth protection, combat illegal e-cigarettes and help the state with tax protection. It's a bit like the fox in the henhouse setting up a hotline for more coop protection.

BVTE Managing Director Jan Mücke explains: "Germany does not have a regulation problem, but a control and enforcement problem." That is why citizens should now help: On the new website, they have the opportunity to report sales outlets that sell e-cigarettes to minors or to report retailers who sell illegal products. The reports are sent directly to the authorities. Launched in Berlin and Hamburg, the service is soon to be rolled out nationwide.

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The BVTE member company Imperial Brands Reemtsma underlines just how big the problem of illegal products and the associated tax damage allegedly is with its "Black Market Tracker". This year alone, the tax loss so far amounts to at least 13,806,628 euros (as of May). The reference to this tax loss seems quite cynical. After all, every euro of lost tax on illegal products means potential lost sales for the tobacco industry with its own legal and taxed products.

The fact that the tobacco industry, whose business model has been based on trivializing risks and appealing to young target groups for decades, is now acting as a deputy sheriff in matters of youth protection on Non-Smoking Day leaves more than just a bland aftertaste. It is not the first image campaign of this kind, but the timing and focus are particularly piquant here. It could be seen as a classic diversionary tactic to distract attention from the company's own core business and put on a clean cloak.

But behind the façade of selfless protection of minors, there is probably a solid vested interest. Who knows the tricks and gray areas of the market, the illegal distribution channels and machinations better than the tobacco industry itself? And who has a greater interest in "cleansing" the market of uncontrolled, untaxed and, above all, competing illegal goods that reduce their own sales? Of course, the sale of e-cigarettes to minors must be prevented and illegal vapes must be combated due to the risk of poisoning and explosions, but above all the current action seems like one thing: market protection.

(vza)