Netherlands Probes Tobacconist Support

The Netherlands’ food and consumer product safety organization, NVWA, will investigate cigarette manufacturers’ support of tobacconists, which critics insist amounts to illegal advertising, reports Dutch News.

Dutch law prohibits the advertising, promotion, sponsoring and marketing of tobacco products.

The investigation was prompted by a news report that said Philip Morris International is giving money to people who are opening new tobacco shops ahead of a ban on the sale of cigarettes in supermarkets scheduled to take effect in July.

In the runup to the ban, the number of specialist cigarette shops, often in the direct vicinity of supermarkets, has risen for the first time in more than 10 years.

“A lot of adult smokers will be looking for new outlets,” a PMI spokesperson told Distrifood. “We are very willing to work with those entrepreneurs who share our vision of the future,” he said.

Almost a quarter of the Dutch population smokes.