By Timothy S. Donahue

Top Takeaways:

• Older consumers: A German government survey found no cigar or cigarillo consumers under age 45 among respondents.
• Tiny market: Cigar and cigarillo consumers represented just 0.4% of survey participants and 2.3% of smokers.
• Regulatory argument: Industry groups say the findings support treating cigars differently from cigarettes and vaping products.

For an industry often swept up in broader tobacco-control debates, a new German study suggests that premium cigars remain exactly what cigar manufacturers have long argued they are: a niche product consumed primarily by older adults.

Data from Germany’s 2025 Microcensus showed that cigar and cigarillo consumers numbered just 193 out of more than 71,000 survey participants, according to an analysis by the Bundesverband der Zigarrenindustrie (BdZ), Germany’s cigar industry association.

Among the roughly 45,000 respondents who identified as smokers, users of cigars and cigarillos accounted for only 2.3%, representing approximately 0.4% of the total survey population. Perhaps more significant for regulators, the survey found no consumers of cigars or cigarillos in the 15-to-45-year-old age group.

Instead, cigar consumption was concentrated among older adults, particularly those ages 55 to 65. The study also found that cigar consumers were overwhelmingly male. Of the 193 cigar and cigarillo users identified, 156 were men.

Germany’s annual Microcensus is conducted by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, one of the country’s largest recurring demographic surveys. For cigar manufacturers, the findings come as regulators across Europe consider stricter tobacco and nicotine regulations that could affect products ranging from cigarettes and vapes to nicotine pouches and premium cigars.

Industry representatives argue that the data supports product-specific regulation. BdZ stated that the results support its long-held position that cigars are neither an entry-level tobacco product nor a mass-market category. Instead, the association described cigars as an occasional “pleasure product” for a relatively small segment of adult consumers.

The study also found that the category continues to face commercial pressure. According to German government sales data, volumes of cigars and cigarillos declined 6.6% in 2025 compared with the previous year, while sales value remained relatively stable.

The figures are based on tax-stamp purchases tracked by German authorities. “This confirms the trend identified in previous microcensus and EU Eurobarometers since 2012,” said Paul Varakas, director general of the European Cigar Manufacturers Association (ECMA), the Brussels-based trade association representing premium cigar and cigarillo manufacturers across Europe.

“In fact, these results clearly indicate that providing a differentiated regulatory treatment for cigars or cigarillos does not lead to an increase in popularity or consumption from young people,” Varakas said.

Varakas argued that the findings demonstrate that cigars continue to serve as traditional cultural and enjoyment products rather than products that attract youth consumers.

The results could become increasingly relevant as European policymakers review tobacco legislation and consider whether premium cigars should continue to receive different regulatory treatment from cigarettes, vaping products, and other nicotine categories.