“Smoking kills”: This is the warning on cigarette packs. But how much warning should be given on cigarette machines? A non-smoking association and a vending machine company are arguing about this.
A non-smoking initiative wants to enforce in court that warnings about smoking are given more prominence on tobacco vending machines. In the opinion of the Pro Rauchfrei association, the previous information on vending machines is not enough. These would either have to be attached to every selection button – or the buttons would have to have a visually neutral design, i.e. without a trademark or brand color, said the board of the Pro Rauchfrei association, Stephan Weinberger, to the dpa.
“Warnings are important so that they deter potential beginners from smoking and so that the machines do not appear attractive,” said Weinberger before a court hearing on Tuesday in Düsseldorf. Sentences like “Smoking kills” are still found casually on the side of vending machines, where they do not inhibit the impulse to buy. But that is required by law.
Around 85,000 cigarette machines
The association’s lawsuit before the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court (file number I-20 UKl 2/24) is directed against tobaccoland Automatengesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, which has its headquarters in Mönchengladbach and, according to its own information, operates around 85,000 cigarette machines nationwide – for example in pubs, supermarkets and on the side of the road. The company initially left a request unanswered. According to the court, the company argues that the machines are designed to comply with the law and that warnings would be difficult to read if they were placed on selection buttons. The company also points out that upgrading the devices would be very costly.
According to industry information, around 6 percent of cigarettes in Germany are sold via vending machines. The packs they contain are printed with warnings and shock photos. But from the perspective of critics, this is not enough to satisfy the warning requirement. After all, shock images of the boxes still in the machine are usually not visible from the outside.
There has been a dispute over warnings on machines for years
How strongly the warning about health risks should be displayed on the outside of a vending machine has been a source of controversy for years. In 2017, Pro Rauchfrei filed a lawsuit. After going through the courts, the Federal Court of Justice supported the non-smoking association in October 2023.
“Despite the Karlsruhe ruling, machine operators have not given in, so we are now demanding that the specified implementation be achieved by means of an interim injunction,” said club board member Weinberger. In his opinion, it is also not enough that the warning on digital machines only appears after a keypad has been pressed. “This doesn’t inhibit the impulse to buy – but that’s exactly what the legislation needs to happen.”
The court wants to give an assessment of the facts today, and a verdict is expected to follow in a few weeks.
Source: Stern
