Shock find: Almost 800 illegal e-cigarettes hidden in Shisha shop!

Shock find: Almost 800 illegal e-cigarettes hidden in Shisha shop!

Reinickendorf, Deutschland - On May 26, 2025, a jointly carried out control operation by police section 11, the main customs office in Berlin and the sales group commerce group of the Reinickendorf regulatory office was carried out. The focus was on checking a shisha shop on Lübarser Strasse, which was suspected of selling illegal disposable E-cigarettes to minors. During this inspection, almost 800 one-way e-cigarettes were ensured, which were hidden in refrigerators, behind shelves, under tables and in stairwells and in the courtyard of the business. These measures are related to the repeated violations of the company against the youth protection law.

In addition, it was checked in the area around the store whether young buyers performed the appropriate products. Due to the unauthorized submission of tobacco products to children and adolescents, the police were forced to temporarily close the company. District City Councilor Julia Schrod-Thiel (CDU) emphasized the importance of protecting children and adolescents from products that are hazardous to health and announced that it maintains the control pressure. In the neighborhood and passers-by there were positive feedback on this measure, which coincides with the current discussion about the increasing black market for e-cigarettes.

growing black market and youth protection problem

The Association of E-Zigarette trade (Vdeh) warns of the growing threat from illegal e-cigarettes from the black market. The black market has reached a volume since the introduction of a tax to tobacco substitute about two years ago that corresponds to the legal market and has an increasing tendency. This has led to a massive risk to the protection of minors, since illegal products are often sold to young people. According to the results of test purchases that the VdeH carried out in Berlin, about 75 % of the tested shisha shops offered unauthorized e-cigarettes, while the proportion was 20 % in late.

Oliver Pohland, managing director of the Vdeh, comments concerned about the consequences of illegal trade. The sale of non -transportable and unmounted vapes to young people offers a significant health risk. He also emphasizes that the Treasury by the Black Market misses high three -digit million amounts annually. In response to these developments, the Vdeh intensified its youth protection campaign in order to improve the problem and to increase the efficiency of the protection of minors.

regulatory challenges and demands

Despite multiple warnings of the grievances in the control of the illegal market, it remains with inadequate official measures and low punishments, which favors the growth of the black market. The WHO has accused industry of addressing children through marketing -oriented strategies and fake products that often have a high nicotine content. Health organizations require increased regulations, including the sale of e-cigarettes exclusively in licensed specialist shops.

The problem for the sale of e-cigarettes and in particular one-way products has led to a call from Burkhard Blienert, the Federal Commissioner for Drug Policy, to consider the introduction of a ban on these products. In countries like Australia, e-cigarettes may only be sold in pharmacies, and only in neutral packaging, without aroma substances. This could serve as a model for future regulations in Germany.

For further information on the problems of the problems in the area of ​​e-cigarettes and youth protection, see also Berliner website berlin.de, vdeh Website and Tagesschau.