The black market tracker released by Reemtsma, a German company under Imperial Tobacco, for the first half of 2026 shows that the amount of illegal tobacco and nicotine product seizures reported by German authorities continues to rise. Among them, the amount of illegal vapes seized in the first six months of this year has reached about 70% of the total for 2025, while the amount of Snus and tobacco free nicotine bags seized has reached 179% of the total for last year.
Overview of Key Points
- Reemtsma stated that the amount of illegal tobacco and nicotine product seizures in Germany continued to rise in the first half of the year.
- The amount of illegal vapes seized in the first half of 2026 reached 2489960, equivalent to 70% of the total for the whole year of 2025.
- The seized quantity of Snus and tobacco free nicotine bags reached 42499 cans, equivalent to 179% of the total in 2025.
- The related tax losses in the first half of the year amounted to 25330474 euros, equivalent to 97% of the total for the year 2025.
- Reemtsma warns that tax increases, comprehensive bans, lack of regulation, and enforcement loopholes may continue to compress the legal market space.
Reemtsma is a German tobacco company under Imperial Brands, and its official website describes it as part of the Imperial Brands group.
The amount of seizures in the first half of the year is close to or exceeds the level of the whole year last year
Reemtsma stated that its black market tracker is based on public reports from German customs and police, tracking the seizure of illegal or ineligible tobacco and nicotine products.
According to data, in the first half of 2026, German authorities reported at least the following seizures:
- 55,938,553 illegal cigarettes;
- 2,489,960 illegal vapes;
- 42,499 cans of Snus and tobacco free nicotine bags;
- Related tax losses amounted to 25330474 euros.
In contrast, the relevant figures for the whole year of 2025 are 86827371 illegal cigarettes, 3564118 illegal vapes, 23741 cans of Snus and tobacco free nicotine bags, with a tax loss of 26132821 euros.
According to data disclosed by Reemtsma, the amount of illegal cigarette seizures in the first half of 2026 has reached 64% of the total for 2025, and illegal vapes have reached 70%. The seizure volume of Snus and nicotine bags has reached 179% of the total for 2025, which is about 79% higher than last year. The tax losses reported in the first half of the year have reached 97% of the total for the year 2025.
Reemtsma claims illegal market is accelerating
Reemtsma stated that its black market tracker has been continuously compiling public reports of illegal tobacco and nicotine products seized by German customs and police since early 2025.
Christian Cordes, Director of Corporate and Legal Affairs at Reemtsma DACH, stated that the tracker only reflects officially reported cases of seizure, and therefore is only the “tip of the iceberg”. He said that the current data reached a high level in the middle of the year, indicating that the development of illegal markets is worthy of vigilance.
Cordes stated that products such as e-cigarettes, Snus, and nicotine bags demonstrate how illegal suppliers exploit gray areas, enforcement gaps, or economic arbitrage spaces. He believes that if there is no controllable regulation of the relevant market while weakening the legitimate market, illegal suppliers will benefit from it.
The company opposes further increase in tobacco taxes
Reemtsma stated in a press release that it is critical of the planned tobacco tax hike by the German Federal Ministry of Finance. The company believes that increasing taxes can only bring additional revenue to the government if the legal market remains stable and consumers do not turn to illegal or cross-border purchasing channels on a large scale.
Reemtsma also stated in a LinkedIn post that readers can judge for themselves whether measures such as significant tax increases, comprehensive bans, lack of regulation, and enforcement loopholes that further pressure legal and regulated markets can reverse the current trend.
Cordes stated that tobacco tax policies that weaken the legal market and strengthen the illegal market are not reasonable in terms of finance and public health. He stated that additional taxes will only be generated when the product is actually sold through legal channels and taxed; If consumers turn to illegal channels, the state, enterprises, consumer protection, and youth protection will all be affected.
Reemtsma also mentioned that markets such as France and the Netherlands have seen consumers turning to illegal or cross-border channels. The company believes that Germany needs to avoid further stimulating similar trends through tax or ban shocks.
The company calls for strengthening law enforcement and enforceable supervision
Reemtsma stated that Germany needs more predictable, effective, and easily implementable anti illegal trade policies. The direction proposed by the company includes clarifying regulatory responsibilities, strengthening inspections, implementing effective sanctions against illegal suppliers, and avoiding unnecessary exclusion of legal products from the market.
The company believes that official reports have shown that illegal trade in tobacco and nicotine products is becoming a growing issue for law enforcement agencies. If there are further tax or ban impacts, the relevant trend may continue to accelerate.
Reemtsma reiterated in a LinkedIn post that its black market tracker has been continuously evaluating German customs and police reports of illegal or non circulating tobacco and nicotine product seizures since early 2025. The company stated that the tracker does not reflect the absolute market size, but presents the dynamics of the German black market based on official sources.
Industry Impact and Follow up Observations
From an industry perspective, the data released by Reemtsma cannot directly represent the complete scale of the German tobacco and nicotine black market, as the tracker only counts cases of seizures publicly reported by the authorities. However, this data can still serve as a reference indicator for observing changes in the illegal market in Germany.
It is worth noting that the number of seizures related to illegal vapes and nicotine bags has increased significantly, indicating that the German market for new nicotine products is facing a more complex balance between regulation, taxation, and law enforcement. If the tax burden on legal products continues to rise, or if the regulatory boundaries of some categories are unclear, illegal supply chains may continue to expand by exploiting price differentials, compliance gaps, and online and offline channels.
For German regulatory authorities, the subsequent focus may be on how to simultaneously achieve taxation, consumer protection, youth protection, and legal market stability. For tobacco and nicotine companies, black market data will also become an important basis for their participation in tax policy and product regulatory discussions.
Which vape brands in Germany are popular?
The popular vape brand in germany is mostly from China.
Such we Fumot vape, Hayati vape, JNR vape, Vozol vape, Elfworld vape. Those are disposable vape as big puff there. I think they are regarded as a thorn in the side of the eye.
The blu vape, Oxva pod system, Elfbar pod system, Veev pod system are popular as legal vape product in Germany.
Blu vape is belongs to Imperial Tobacco. Veev vape is belongs to Philip Morris.
