Less smoking and magazine sales shrink Carinthia’s tobacco shops

Carinthia has lost 31 tobacco shops in the past 15 years as people smoke less and buy fewer magazines, ORF reports. The province had 158 shops in 2015 and now has 143.

The latest closure was in Paternion, in Villach-Land district, where Sabine Polzer retired for health reasons after running the shop for 17 years. The business also served as a postal partner and a meeting place for residents. Two more shops, in Villach and Althofen, are due to close permanently this year.

When an operator leaves, the state-owned Monopolverwaltungsgesellschaft assesses whether the shop is still viable. The company’s managing director, Hannes Hofer, said the expected profit at the Paternion location was about 30,000 euros, which he considered too low for a business. With few successors available and some locations no longer profitable, vacant shops are not being reassigned.

Tobacco shops have been allocated by the state for more than 240 years, dating back to the rule of Joseph II. Applicants must have a disability rating of 50 percent.