Activists Demand Removal of Cigarettes From Dutch Stores

Anti-smoking activists have demanded the removal of all cigarettes from Dutch store shelves following a court ruling on emissions, reports Dutch News.

On Nov. 4, judges in Rotterdam said there are “strong indications” that filter cigarettes on sale in the Netherlands may break EU limits on tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide.

The ruling gives the Dutch food and product safety board, NVWA, six weeks to start ensuring that the law is followed properly and that cigarettes do not exceed EU limits.

Tests carried out by the RIVM public health institute in 2018 showed the amount of tar in a cigarette can be up to 26 times the official norm and that nicotine and carbon monoxide levels are also too high in most brands.

In its tests, the RIVM covered the ventilation holes in the filter paper, a method that experts say more accurately mimics the way consumers smoke their cigarettes than the prevailing methods, which leave the ventilation holes uncovered.

Until the European Commission comes up with a measurement method that accurately reflects the emissions that smokers are inhaling, there is no guarantee that the filter cigarettes sold in the Netherlands comply with the directives, the Rotterdam court said.

Wanda de Kanter of the anti-youth smoking body Stichting Rookpreventie Jeugd said the ruling effectively ended the use of fraudulent measurements for emissions of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. “This has enabled the tobacco industry to make and keep people addicted for years, but the ruling makes it clear this practice cannot last,” she said.

“The NVWA must immediately remove all cigarettes from the shelves.”