Vaping industry grows by 40% in Germany
If there’s one European country where vaping is in full swing, it’s Germany. The main vaping association in the country has just announced a 40% increase in sales in the last year. The sector should continue to grow, with profits reaching almost half-a-billion Euros in 2019.
The Bündnis für Tabakfreien Genuss (BfTG) association, which brings together German vaping professionals, recently carried out a survey of a few hundred vaping boutiques throughout the country. The results suggest a very promising future for the vaping market in Germany. The sector reported global profits of 400 million Euros in 2018, a 40% increase from the previous year.
The growth of the vaping industry in Germany is largely due to smokers quitting traditional cigarettes. Perceived as an effective and healthy alternative, the e-cigarette is attracting more and more people each day. Currently, there are approximately two million e-cigarette users in Germany.
As vaping rises, smoking rates decline
For Dustin Dahlmann, president of the BfTG, the e-cigarette provides numerous benefits to former smokers. It is much less harmful, has a variety of flavours, and is much cheaper. Such advantages help explain the rise of the vaping industry in the past months in Germany.
As the sales of vaping products continue to increase, cigarette sales continue to drop in Germany—and this is without any public campaign to support vaping. Vaping professionals now fear a potential ban on marketing for e-cigarettes. The European Commission’s anti-vaping policy could indeed change current regulations.
The BfTG’s survey also brought some interesting data to light. Independent vaping shops currently employ an average of eight employees. Online sales make up 21% of all sales, and 37% of professionals have both brick and mortar stores as well as a website.
