The Federal Association of the Tobacco and Novel Product Industries is calling for stricter enforcement of youth protection laws concerning the sale of tobacco products. Speaking to RTL and ntv, Federal CEO Jan Mücke stated, “I believe a lot depends on how the state enforces its rules” adding that there are “too few people working in the supervisory agencies”.
Mücke highlighted specific local issues, noting that in his district, there have only been two legal actions in five years for violating youth protection regulations, and that the existing fines are too low. The association is therefore demanding that the current framework of penalties be utilized much more effectively-and expanded. According to Mücke, selling nicotine products to minors must become “very, very expensive”.
