The tobacco and nicotine industry is rich in tradition, highly regulated and at the same time an innovation-driven sector that has been based on stability through social partnership, innovative strength and high-quality employment in Germany for decades.

Even in economically challenging times the industry has made a significant contribution to industrial continuity and job security in Germany through resilient sales structures, long-term investments and reliable creation of value.

The German Employers’ Association for Nicotine & Innovation e.V. sees itself in the responsibility to protect this industrial and social contribution. Regulatory decisions on issues such as tobacco tax (e.g. the EU Tobacco Excise Directive – TED) or tobacco products (e.g. the EU Tobacco Products Directive TPD) can lead to undesirable market distortions or shifts to cross-border illegal trade, deprive the legal, collectively bargained industry of sales volume and jeopardize jobs and training places.

Predictable and measured regulation is therefore a prerequisite for investment security, employment and the continuation of social partnership structures.

The German Employers’ Association for Nicotine & Innovation e.V. expects policymakers and administrators on national, European and international levels to involve social partners early in all regulatory projects and to conduct binding employment and regional impact assessments. Effects of regulatory decisions on collectively bargained employment, training, wages and business stability have to be disclosed in a transparent way.

We therefore appeal to the bodies and levels responsible for regulatory decisions to always consider any regulation in the overall context of its industrial, employment and social policy implications.