Founded on 10 July 1922 as the Imperial Cigarette Industry Employers’ Association (Reichsarbeitgeberverband der Zigarettenindustrie), the AdC was registered as an association on 19 July 1950 with its present name.

The AdC is based in Hamburg. It is here that the headquarters of two major member companies are located, those of British American Tobacco and Reemtsma, and also the home of our collective bargaining partner, the German Union for Workers in the Foodstuffs, Tobacco, Drinks and Public Houses Industry (Gewerkschaft Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten or NGG).