Despite the smoking ban, price increases and deterrent images on the packaging, more than one in four adults in Germany continues to smoke regularly – even though the health consequences are widely known. It is estimated that 127,000 people die in this country every year as a result of tobacco consumption. In order to encourage more people to quit, the World Health Organization launched World No Tobacco Day in 1987, which takes place every year on 31 May.
Miguel de la Riva
Volunteer
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This year, the German Cancer Aid and the Non-Smoking Action Alliance have chosen the motto of World No Tobacco Day: "Who can turn tobacco into food?" Because if you don't smoke, you have more money available for healthy eating, according to the idea. After all, a pack of cigarettes now costs an average of eight euros.
Rising prices are likely to be one of the reasons why the number of smokers has declined in recent decades, along with information about long-term health consequences. In 1950, half of the adult population in Germany still smoked, according to data from the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research. In the meantime, their share has shrunk to 26 percent. Contrary to the general downward trend, there has been a brief increase in smokers in recent Corona years.
World No Tobacco Day: Why smoking is still popular
The vast majority of smokers have already started in adolescence. The fact that young people reach for cigarettes is explained by the desire for "coolness" and peer pressure. It could also play a role that tobacco use feels "grown-up" or represents a rebellion against parents who advise against it because of the major health risks – such as that of oral cavity cancer. Since the dangers of cigarette consumption have become increasingly unquestionable since the mid-20th century, the tobacco industry has begun to portray smoking as something daring, adventurous and non-conformist – something done by people who do not shy away from risk and danger, are independent and strong.
E-cigarettes and tobacco heaters are also becoming increasingly popular. They are considered by some to be a supposedly healthier alternative to cigarettes. According to the "German Survey on Smoking Behavior" (DEBRA), e-cigarettes and tobacco heaters are used by about five percent of smokers in Germany. However, they are suspected of making young people more dependent on nicotine again and also encouraging them to consume tobacco cigarettes.
How to quit smoking
In order to get rid of smoking, a variety of methods and aids have now been established. They range from cold turkey and nicotine chewing gum to seminars and behavioral therapy interventions. A particular challenge are the cravings that often occur in the withdrawal phase after the last butt. This is where relaxation techniques or nicotine replacement products can help.
One of the popular tips and tricks to get rid of cigarettes is to tell friends and acquaintances about the project in order to expose yourself to a certain pressure of expectations. Exercise can act as a substitute drug and also counteract the weight gain that can occur when quitting. It is also helpful to visualize your progress and reward yourself in a targeted manner – for example, by collecting the money you have saved in a glass so that it is clearly visible and treating yourself to something nice from it.
And it can actually work: one of the authors of this text waited for the employer to move to a new building and neighborhood, which coincided with the beginning of a new year – the good intention motivates, work is distracting, and in the new environment there is a lack of previous key stimuli. Colleagues in the know motivated and created the right amount of pressure of expectation, and it was also helpful to have a new environment in which the nearest cigarette vending machine in the neighborhood and the smoking corner on the premises were not yet on the mental map.
Nicotine chewing gum helped to survive the worst cravings, and after an initial intensive use, it was not difficult to gradually replace it with regular, nicotine-free chewing gum over the course of a few weeks. In order to bring the head to other thoughts, series binge-watching in the evening also helped in the first few days – although series in which the actors smoke is not advisable.
That's why it's so hard to quit smoking
If it doesn't work out for you at first, you are not alone: Quitting smoking is extremely difficult. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances of all. This is shown by the high relapse rates: With cold withdrawal, less than five percent succeed in getting rid of cigarettes. Even with aids such as motivating books, nicotine chewing gum or professional seminars, the relapse rates are up to 80 percent. It is therefore rarely the case that quitting without one or more relapses succeeds, which could explain why the wisdom circulates among former smokers that quitting as such is easy, the real difficulty is rather not to start again.
Mark Twain also recorded this in a much-quoted sentence: "Quitting smoking is child's play. I've done it a hundred times." But there is good news for all recidivists: Smokers who have already had a failed cessation attempt have a better chance of making it next time – but only if they don't use this insight as an excuse to stop their attempts prematurely.
In order to prevent people from starting to use tobacco in the first place, various measures are being discussed. On the occasion of Non-Smoking Day, for example, the Non-Smoking Action Alliance is calling for an increase in tobacco tax and a complete ban on cigarette advertising. Tobacco advertising was first regulated by law in Germany in 1975. At that time, cigarette advertising on television and radio was banned. Further regulations on the sponsorship of television events (1999) and advertising in cinemas (2003) followed. Since 2022, tobacco products may no longer be advertised at bus stops.
However, when it comes to regulating advertising and sponsorship of the tobacco industry, Germany performs quite poorly compared to other European countries. This is the result of the "Tobacco Control Index": For 2021, Germany ranks 34th out of 37, with Ireland and Great Britain leading the way. Tobacco advertising is subject to particularly strong controls there – for example, manufacturers are not allowed to print their logos on cigarette packs.
The incentive to consume less is also to be channelled through the level of tobacco tax. The government last decided to raise the nicotine tax in 2022. The tax now accounts for around 50 percent of the price of a cigarette. In 2021, this generated revenue of 14.67 billion euros for the German state.