Two separate questions decide whether you can legally buy cigars online from a European retailer: how old you must be, and whether your country permits distance selling of tobacco at all. The first is almost always 18. The second varies far more than most shoppers expect — and it is the real reason some European capitals cannot be served by any online cigar retailer, ourselves included.
The Age Baseline: 18, With Rising Exceptions
The EU treats 18 as the standard minimum age to purchase tobacco, and every country we serve enforces exactly that. A small but growing number of countries are moving the bar higher: Latvia raised its purchase age to 20, and Ireland has legislated an increase to 21. These changes reflect a broader European trend toward stricter tobacco-control policy, even in countries where distance selling itself remains legal.
Purchase Age and Online Purchase Eligibility, Country by Country
Age verification alone does not make an order legal. The table below separates the two questions clearly: how old a buyer must be, and whether their country allows a cross-border online tobacco purchase in the first place.
| Country | Legal Purchase Age | Online / Distance Purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 18 | Permitted, with mandatory age verification and adult-signature delivery |
| Austria | 18 | Permitted |
| Belgium | 18 | Permitted |
| Czech Republic | 18 | Permitted |
| Poland | 18 | Permitted |
| Switzerland | 18 | Permitted (non-EU, sets its own tobacco law) |
| France | 18 | Prohibited nationwide — tobacco retail is a state monopoly |
| Italy | 18 | Prohibited nationwide — tobacco retail is a state monopoly |
| Spain | 18 | Prohibited nationwide under Law 28/2005 |
| Netherlands | 18 | Prohibited nationwide since 1 July 2023 (domestic and cross-border) |
Age and distance-selling rules can change; this table reflects the law as of 2026 for the ten countries most relevant to our customers.
How We Verify Age at Checkout
Every order requires you to confirm you are 18 or older before it can be placed, and we reserve the right to cancel any order where this cannot be reasonably established. This is a legal requirement, not a formality — tobacco sold to a minor is a serious offence in every country we operate in.
If You’re in a Restricted Country
If your delivery address is in France, Italy, Spain or the Netherlands, we are legally unable to ship your order — no retailer can, regardless of what any website claims. Your best legal options are a licensed local tobacconist (a "buraliste" in France, a "tabaccheria" in Italy, an "estanco" in Spain) or, in the Netherlands, one of the remaining specialist retail outlets permitted to sell in person.