Wiesbaden, Germany - Germans are smoking fewer cigarettes, but more cigars, cigarillos and pipe tobacco, according to statistics released on Tuesday.

Cigarette sales declined 2.5 per cent in 2006 to 93 billion units, but sales of cigars and cigarillos were up 37.7 per cent to to 5.6 million units, the Federal Statistics Office said.

Sales of pipe tobacco rose 14.7 per cent to 922 tons, the statistics office added.

The government earned a total of 23.1 billion euros (30 billion dollars) in taxes from tobacco products last year, 859 million euros or 3.6 per cent less than 2005.