Austrian Tobacco Retailers Demand Nicotine Monopoly Law
As the European Union aims to significantly reduce tobacco consumption by 2040, Austrian tobacco retailers, known as Trafikanten, fear losing their primary source of income. In response, they are calling for a new law that would restrict the sale of e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches exclusively to their shops.
Otmar Schwarzenbohler, the chairman of the Lower Austrian Tobacco Retailers Association, notes that while the number of smokers in Austria is declining, more people are turning to novel nicotine products like nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes. “Especially younger people are switching from cigarettes to these products,” he says. “Therefore, they are a smoking substitute and belong in the tobacco shop.”
Currently, Austria’s more than 4,500 tobacco shops, 1,000 of which are in Lower Austria, only have a monopoly on tobacco products, which account for 70 percent of their business. Novel nicotine products do not fall under this monopoly and can be sold anywhere. Schwarzenbohler criticizes the current situation, stating, “These products are currently on the market in vending machines next to sweets, Soletti, and drinks.”
Schwarzenbohler, who also runs a tobacco shop in a St. Pölten shopping center, argues that all nicotine products should only be sold in tobacco shops in the future. “The Tobacco Act is 240 years old, with minor changes. Now we have to transform it into a Nicotine Act in line with the changing times,” he says.
The tobacco retailers’ chairman also cites youth protection as a reason for their demand. In Austria, tobacco products and related products like e-cigarettes, liquids, or tobacco heaters can only be sold to individuals over 18 years old. While tobacco shops have voluntarily introduced an age limit of 18 for novel nicotine products, Schwarzenbohler criticizes that age restrictions are often not adequately controlled and enforced for vending machines and in retail.
The tobacco retailers are addressing their demand for a nicotine law to the future government, with the goal of having the new legislation included in the government program. However, this is also a matter of economic survival for many tobacco shop owners. Without a new law and with further declining tobacco consumption, Schwarzenbohler estimates that only 20 out of the 1,000 tobacco shops in Lower Austria – 400 classic stores and 600 sales outlets attached to grocery stores – would likely remain in the future.
“They will disappear because their livelihood is gone. Everyone needs to be aware of this. People with disabilities, who have been given the opportunity to live independently through this social project, will then be back on the streets,” Schwarzenbohler warns.
Tobacco shops are considered a social project because vacant stores are exclusively awarded to individuals with a disability degree of over 50 percent, as the Monopoly Administration Company informs on its website. Currently, 1,218 people with disabilities run a tobacco shop across Austria, accounting for 55 percent of all operators.
Christian Puchegger, who runs a tobacco shop in St. Pölten’s Wagram district, conveniently located on Purkersdorfer Straße, an important commuter route, says that while many ancillary items are purchased, tobacco is still “the frequency and sales driver” – “for now.” He notes that more and more regular customers have already quit smoking, and “the trend in tobacco products is declining sharply.”
Puchegger also advocates for pouches, e-cigarettes, and disposable e-cigarettes to fall under the monopoly in the future. “We need to sell things that we can make a profit from. For example, we also load charging cards for older customers, where you hardly have a margin. You can only do that if you have products that you can earn something from.” Without a new law, Puchegger believes the situation will become “very critical” for many tobacco retailers “in the near future.”
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