Tag: Belgium

  • Record Number of Illegal Factories Raided in Belgium

    Record Number of Illegal Factories Raided in Belgium

    Photo: Europol

    Belgian authorities on Oct. 21 dismantled the 11th illegal cigarette factory since the start of 2024, reports The Brussels Times, citing an announcement by the Ministry of Finance. Nineteen suspects from Ukraine, Romania and Lithuania were taken into custody for questioning.

    Police and customs seized around 11 tons of tobacco and 5.6 million Rothmans and Marlboro Touch cigarettes. If sold legally, the products would have yielded the state €6.2 million in tax receipts.

    While this marks a new record number of illicit manufacturers uncovered within a year, it does not necessarily reflect an increase in criminal activity, according to Ministry of Finance spokesperson Florence Angelici. “We know what we catch,” he was quoted as saying.

    However, Angelici acknowledged that there has been a general increase in demand for cheap illegal cigarettes, due in part to the rising prices of tobacco products.

    Around 13 percent of illicit cigarettes in the EU were consumed in Belgium last year, according to a report commissioned by Philip Morris International. Angelici highlighted that many of the cigarettes produced in the country are not intended for domestic sales, but tend to be smuggled to countries to high-price markets such as the U.K. and France.

    Belgium’s proximity to leading illegal cigarette markets, as well as its ports and large road networks, make it “very interesting” destination for those involved not only in the production but also I  tbe smuggling of illicit products, said Angelici.

    According to him, the illicit cigarette trade is a well-organized criminal activity. “You will have people specialized in installing machines; then those who will bring trucks. It’s a logistic network,” he said.

    Tackling the issue on a European or global scale can be difficult due to the different national legislations.

     Almost 205 million cigarettes were seized in Belgium in 2024. This represents around €96 million in evaded tax, according to the Ministry of Finance.

  • Belgian Retailers Required to Hide Tobacco Next Year

    Belgian Retailers Required to Hide Tobacco Next Year

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Retailers in Belgium will be banned from displaying tobacco products effective April 1, 2025, reports EuroWeekly. The rule also applies to vapes, filters and rolling papers.

    Violators risk penalties of up to one year of imprisonment and fines from €2,000 ($2,178) to €800,000.

    Originally scheduled for Jan. 1, 2025, the implementation has been delayed by three months.

    Earlier this year, the Belgian government raised cigarette prices through taxation and committed to expanding smoke-free public spaces.

    VapeBel, representing vape retailers and distributors, expressed disappointment, arguing that specialized stores are crucial for age verification and educating adult smokers about vaping.

    To help customers identify the products on offer, authorities suggest retailers display price lists detailing product names and brands without logos.

  • Belgium to Ban Sale of Disposables

    Belgium to Ban Sale of Disposables

    Photo: Bennphoto

    Belgium will ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes effective Jan. 1, 2025, making it the first EU country to do so, reports The Brussels Times, citing Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke. The country has received approval from the European Commission for the ban.

    “The disposable e-cigarette causes a lot of damage to society and the environment,” said Vandenbroucke. “This harmful product mainly targets our young people. I am therefore pleased that we can remove this from the market.”

    Vandenbroucke said that marketing for vapes is “very savvy” and “youth-oriented” despite sales of vapes to minors being banned in Belgium. Youth use is widespread, and in 2023, about three in four points of sale sold disposables to minors, according to an inspection.

    “Belgium is playing a pioneering role in Europe to break the power of the tobacco lobby,” Vandenbroucke said upon receiving approval for the ban from the European Commission. “This is another milestone in our fight against tobacco.”

    “We strive for a smoke-free generation and want people, especially young people, to be better protected and to come into less contact with tobacco or alternative smoking methods,” Vandenbroucke said. “With this measure, we ensure that we remove an extremely harmful product from the market, which is also cheap and therefore attractive to young people.”

    Nondisposable e-cigarettes will still be allowed as many use them to quit smoking combustible cigarettes. “Still, we have been able to agree that they can no longer be offered with lights and other things to make them attractive,” Vandenbroucke said. “It should not be a product to start smoking but to stop smoking.”

  • New Year Begins Belgium’s Vaping Tax

    New Year Begins Belgium’s Vaping Tax

    Credit: Master Sergeant

    Beginning January 1, 2024, Belgium will introduce a new tax on e-liquids used in electronic cigarettes. The tax will be set at 15 cents per milliliter.

    The move has received criticism from both users and retailers who fear that it will lead to increased costs and a potential shift back to traditional tobacco cigarettes.

    The spokesperson for the federal Finance Minister defended the tax, stating that it aligns with Germany’s tax rate, which is also set to increase in the coming years, according to media reports.

    They further clarified that the goal is not to encourage people to return to smoking combustible cigarettes but to recognize that e-cigarettes are also tobacco products and should be used as a temporary measure to quit smoking.

  • Belgium Announces Crackdown on Tobacco

    Belgium Announces Crackdown on Tobacco

    Photo: sezerozger

    Belgium Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke announced measures to curtail tobacco consumption and ban the display of tobacco products, reports The Brussels Times.  

    About 24 percent of Belgians smoke, according to Cancer Foundation reports, and of smokers, one in five smoke daily. To help discourage smoking, the federal government previously announced plans to increase excise taxes on tobacco products.

    The latest announcement will reduce points of sale—large supermarkets and festivals will no longer be able to sell cigarettes. Smoking in public spaces will also be restricted, and these new regulations will be effective Jan. 1, 2025.

    The government says it will carry out widespread controls with heavy penalties for those who do not comply with the new rules, including forced closure.

    The Belgian government’s goal is to reduce daily tobacco use to 10 percent of the population by 2028 and to 5 percent by 2040. Sciensano research predicts that these goals will be overshot; if the current rate continues, the 2028 targets will not be fully achieved by 2040.

    Comeos, Belgium’s commerce federation, called the measures “pure hypocrisy,” and Philip Morris said the country’s government is “getting rich off the back of smokers” and that the measures will encourage the black market—Belgium is a known hub for counterfeit cigarettes.

  • Belgium Experts Call for EU-Wide Filter Ban

    Belgium Experts Call for EU-Wide Filter Ban

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Filtered cigarettes are equally as unhealthy as unfiltered cigarettes, a Superior Health Council analysis showed, according to The Brussels Times.

    The analysis also stated that filters cause a false sense of security and can cause more carcinogenic substances in cigarette smoke.

    “Filters in cigarettes do not actually reduce the harmful health effects of smoking. From a public health perspective, they do not offer any benefit while they pollute the environment,” said the report by the Superior Health Council.

    Banning filters could make smoking less attractive as well, as filters are said to have a more “pleasant” mouthfeel, reduce sensory irritation in the airways and prevent tobacco from entering the mouth.

    “Instead of protecting against lung cancer, the filters have mainly promoted a shift in lung cancer type over the years,” the Superior Health Council concluded, adding that filters are therefore a “false solution” to the health problem caused by smoking.

    The Superior Health Council is asking that filters be considered nondegradable single-use plastic products like disposable plastic bags. The council is also suggesting that a filter ban be implemented across the European Union to give it the best chance of success.

  • Fines and Jail for Undeclared Manufacture

    Fines and Jail for Undeclared Manufacture

    Image: MasterSergeant | Adobe Stock

    A Belgian court handed out fines and prison sentences to several companies and individuals for undeclared cigarette manufacturing, reports The Brussels Times.

    The illegal cigarettes were manufactured and stored in a warehouse in Gosselies that was placed under surveillance in 2022. Another warehouse was discovered in a furniture factory in Anderlecht.

    A truck carrying 16 pallets of undeclared cigarettes manufactured in Belgium was checked near Jabbeke.

    The company running the Gosselies manufacturing was fined €36,710,000 ($39,580,338), and its head was also fined that amount as well as receiving a one-year prison sentence.

    Another company was fined €36,710,000 along with a suspended prison sentence for the amount exceeding €36,600,000. All manufacturing and transport equipment was confiscated.

    The other accused were fined €36,710,000 and received suspended prison sentences of six months, nine months and two years for the amount exceeding €36,600,000.

  • Belgium Health Minister Pushes For Pouch Ban

    Belgium Health Minister Pushes For Pouch Ban

    Photo: Liudmila

    The Belgian health minister, Frank Vandenbroucke, has called for a ban on nicotine pouches, citing concerns about youth exposure to tobacco products.

    “Our goal is to prevent our children and young people from smoking,” Vandenbroucke said. “If you are fully committed to a smoke-free generation, you must ensure that young people come into less contact with smoking or anything related to it.”

    Nicotine pouches are popular with youth, according to The Brussels Times, because they are easy to use, like snus, which is banned in the EU except for Sweden, but without the tobacco, and because they are cheaper than other tobacco products. Dutch research has shown that nicotine pouches are addictive and cause harm to the brain.

    “These nicotine pouches, like electronic cigarettes and vaping, can be a steppingstone to smoking at an early age,” Vandenbroucke said. “That is why we are resolutely opting for a ban on them. We are doing this because protecting the health of children and young people is an absolute priority.”

  • Holland and Belgium Tighten Vaping Rules

    Holland and Belgium Tighten Vaping Rules

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Netherlands banned flavored e-cigarettes effective Jan. 1, reports The Brussels Times. Companies have until Oct. 1 to remove the flavored products from shelves; retailers can sell their current stock until that date, but new flavors may not be marketed.

    Belgium plans to tighten vaping regulation as well, according to Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke.

    “E-cigarettes contain some 1,800 different products of which we are far from knowing all the health consequences,” he said. “Maybe some people will switch from regular cigarettes to e-cigarettes, but maybe by using e-cigarettes, people will just end up smoking regular cigarettes.”

    A ban on flavors is not currently planned in Belgium, but a royal decree will soon be published imposing more restrictions on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. “No more trendy names will be allowed to be given to those flavors, and lights will no longer be allowed on e-cigarettes either,” said Vandenbroucke.

    There will be a six-month transition period for the industry to adapt to the new rules and another six-month period to sell current stock.

  • Belgium Bans Smoking at Train Stations

    Belgium Bans Smoking at Train Stations

    Image: Алексей Горелов | Adobe Stock

    Belgium has banned smoking and vaping at train stations, both indoor and outdoor, effective Jan. 1, 2023, according to The Brussels Times.

    The ban will apply to all 550 stations in Belgium, and those caught in violation will be fined. Ashtrays will be removed from platforms, and prohibition signs at visible places will indicate the ban.

    “Our children have the right to grow up in good health, including without exposure to tobacco. As children see fewer and fewer people smoking, the absence of tobacco is becoming the new norm for them,” said Marc Michils, Generation Smoke-Free spokesperson. “Generation Smoke-Free welcomes this measure that brings us closer to the first generation without tobacco.”

    “There are 14,000 victims of tobacco every year in Belgium—that should spur us into action,” said Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet. The ban will “ensure healthier air on the platforms and, above all, reduce the pressure for young people who have quit or want to quit smoking.”