CBD sales remain marginal in Vorarlberg tobacconists

Demand for smokeable CBD products in Vorarlberg remains low, with sales accounting for about five per thousand of tobacconists’ total turnover, ORF reports.

Christian Hafner, spokesman for Vorarlberg’s tobacconists, said about two-thirds of the region’s 76 shops now stock CBD. The range includes flowers, resin and ready-made hemp cigarettes, but the products do not all fit in vending machines.

Smokeable hemp products with less than 0.3 percent THC have been covered by Austria’s tobacco monopoly law for a little over a year. Three specialist CBD shops remain in Vorarlberg. They can sell smokeable CBD under temporary licences until the end of 2028.

From 2029, low-THC cannabis products will fall fully under the tobacco monopoly. They will have to be sourced from authorised wholesalers and sold only in tobacconists.

Hafner said the shops were faring well despite declining cigarette sales, which are falling by two to three percent a year. E-cigarette liquids and nicotine pouches have become established alternatives.