Proposal to raise smoking age

Junior Health Minister Martin van Rijn plans to introduce legislation to raise the Dutch legal age to buy tobacco products from 16 to 18, reports DutchNews.nl.

Earlier this month, the Dutch cigarette industry association SSI, the smoking tobacco association VNK, and Philip Morris Benelux, called for raising the legal tobacco buying age.

Anti-tobacco group Stivoro has blamed government policies, including Health Minister Edith Schippers’ 2010 decision to relax the country’s smoke-free law to exempt bars smaller than 70 square meters, for an anticipated increase in the adult smoking rate to 26.2 percent by the end of 2012.