The cigarettes of the brand West were introduced to the German market in 1981 and were initially available only in tobacco shops, since about 1987, they are also available in supermarkets and cigarette vending machines.

West, after being the second most popular brand of cigarettes in Germany in 2006, has fallen sharply in consumer spending and had to give up its market share in its own brands JPS and Gauloises as a result of the concentration of the brand owner Reemtsma on the West have left behind.