Overview

• Mecklenburg-Vorpommern recorded about 100,000 medical treatments for tobacco dependence and related psychological issues in 2023, up 77% since 2013.
• Schleswig-Holstein saw 14,418 hospital admissions for smoking-related diseases in 2023, representing an 8% increase from 2022.
• One in six tobacco-dependent patients in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern now suffers from COPD, compared to 13.2% a decade ago.
• National tobacco consumption rose in 2024 for the first time in years, reversing a long-term decline, according to the Deutsche Hauptstelle für Suchtfragen.
• Advocacy groups including the Aktionsbündnis Nichtrauchen are pressing for annual tobacco tax hikes and a ban on tobacco marketing to counter the rising trends.