Belgium adopts new anti-tobacco measures. Objective: to further reduce cigarette consumption by 2025.
The federal government and the federated entities agreed on Wednesday on an interfederal plan once morest tobacco consumption which, although in decline in Belgium, remains the cause of many deaths each year.
The plan aims to make tobacco less attractive and more difficult to access. The ban on smoking in certain public places will thus be extended from January 2025 to new outdoor public spaces such as amusement parks, animal parks or playgrounds in particular. The aim is also to avoid in the future the “smoke curtain” caused by smokers at the entrance to hospitals and schools. Smoking rooms will also disappear in the catering sector. The sale of tobacco will be limited at the same time.
Reinforced checks when buying youngsters
In addition to the end of vending machines already voted, the authorities want to go even further with the ban from January 2025 on the sale of cigarettes in cafes or festivals. The federal government has also reached an agreement to end the sale of tobacco in grocery stores larger than 400 m2 by 2028. Checks on young people when buying a pack of cigarettes will be tightened . As soon as a person looks under 25, the seller will have to verify their identity.
Where their sale is authorized, however, tobacco products may no longer be exposed to the sight of consumers. At the same time, the plan includes several initiatives in terms of prevention, as well as to help smokers to turn away from Nicot grass. Reimbursement of nicotine replacement therapies will thus be examined soon by the authorities.
