TobaccoReporter logo

Tag: Belgium

  • Celanese to Close Belgium Acetate Tow Plant by 2026

    Celanese to Close Belgium Acetate Tow Plant by 2026

    Celanese Corp. announced plans to cease operations at its acetate tow facility in Lanaken, Belgium, during the second half of 2026, citing declining demand, regulatory uncertainty, and high operating costs. The company has begun formal consultations with local union representatives, noting that the closure could affect around 160 employees in manufacturing and support roles.

    Celanese said it will continue to meet customer obligations and engage with authorities and the local community to ensure a smooth and responsible transition.

  • Consumer Group’s Pouch Tour Hits Belgium

    Last week, the international consumer group Considerate Pouchers brought its Protect Pouches campaign to Brussels, calling for an end to Belgium’s ban on nicotine pouches. Volunteers engaged citizens and policymakers, distributed fresh Jet Pack coffee, and collected postcards urging Members of the European Parliament to lift restrictions.

    The campaign said that Belgium, with one of Western Europe’s highest smoking rates, denies smokers access to safer alternatives shown to be more than 95% less harmful than cigarettes. Global spokesperson Juan Rafael Taborcía emphasized that over-taxation and bans drive consumers back to cigarettes, and that Brussels should lead Europe in harm reduction.

    The Brussels action is part of a broader European tour.

  • Belgium Smoking/Vaping Ban Starts in 2027, Smoking Rooms Closed

    Belgium Smoking/Vaping Ban Starts in 2027, Smoking Rooms Closed

    Belgium’s federal government confirmed that smoking and vaping will be banned on and near terraces, as well as in all public smoking rooms, starting January 1, 2027. The move, approved by the Council of Ministers on September 12, extends existing smoking restrictions to outdoor hospitality spaces such as café and restaurant terraces, while also eliminating smoking rooms in bars, airports, cigar clubs, and shisha bars. The government delayed the rollout by one year from the original 2026 target to give businesses time to adapt.

    The hospitality sector, which had resisted the measure, will now be responsible for enforcing the ban with clear signage and by actively intervening if customers smoke or vape. Establishments risk penalties for insufficient signage, ignoring violations, or even placing items that could encourage smoking, such as ashtrays.

  • Belgium Extends Plain Packaging to All Tobacco Products from 2026

    Belgium Extends Plain Packaging to All Tobacco Products from 2026

    Belgium will require cigars, cigarillos, cigarette papers, filters, tubes, and all other “herbal products intended for smoking” to adopt standardized green-brown packaging with uniform fonts and health warnings, Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke announced. Effective June 1, 2026, the measure expands existing plain packaging rules for cigarettes and rolling tobacco, in place since 2020, to close loopholes that allow tobacco companies to market via other products. “Small retailers” would receive a one-year exception until June 2027.

    Vandenbroucke said the move aims to curb youth appeal and counter industry tactics, such as packaging cigarillos to resemble old cigarette packs. The government is also considering a ban on smoking on terraces from January 2026.

  • Luxembourg Sees 17% Surge in Cigarette Sales as Buyers Cross Border

    Luxembourg Sees 17% Surge in Cigarette Sales as Buyers Cross Border

    Legal cigarette sales in Luxembourg jumped by 740 million units in 2024, marking a 17% year-on-year increase, according to a new KPMG report on illicit cigarette consumption across Europe. Despite the surge, only 12% of the 5.1 billion cigarettes sold were smoked within the country, as the remaining 88% were consumed across the border, mostly in Germany, Belgium, and France, where significantly higher tobacco prices continue to drive cross-border purchases.

    Luxembourg’s average cigarette pack price of €5.10 undercuts neighboring countries by up to €3, and is less than half of the cost in France.

    While cigarette consumption is booming, illicit trade remains low. Fewer than 9 million cigarettes consumed in Luxembourg were illicit—just 2% of total consumption. By contrast, France’s illicit cigarette rate has climbed to 38%, among the highest in the EU, as high prices fuel a parallel underground market.

  • Belgium Losing €544M from Illegal and Foreign Cigarettes

    Belgium Losing €544M from Illegal and Foreign Cigarettes

    Legal cigarette sales in Belgium continued to fall in 2024, while the volume of counterfeit and smuggled products increased significantly, according to the 19th annual report by consultancy firm KPMG, commissioned by Philip Morris International.

    Nearly 2.4 billion cigarettes consumed in Belgium last year came from non-domestic sources, a 17% increase compared to the previous year, meaning nearly one in three cigarettes smoked in the country were not purchased through Belgian sales channels. While domestically-produced sales declined, 1.1 billion cigarettes in Belgium were legally purchased abroad last year, an increase of 22%. The volume of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes in the country also grew, by 13%, to 1.3 billion.

    Imports from Bulgaria tripled since 2020 to 770 million cigarettes last year, as did those from Luxembourg at 740 million in 2024. According to KPMG, the shift to illegal or foreign products is estimated to have cost the Belgian government around €544 million in lost tax revenue last year.

  • Belgium Tobacco Display Ban Goes into Effect

    Belgium Tobacco Display Ban Goes into Effect

    Belgium’s new laws to limit the visibility of cigarettes and other nicotine products, with the hope of curbing impulse purchases, went into effect yesterday (April 1). Cigarettes and other tobacco products can no longer be displayed in shops and stores larger than 400 square meters are banned from selling such products altogether. This is the second phase of a program that included the ban of disposable e-cigarettes beginning Jan. 1.

    “Our ambition is to have a smoke-free generation by 2040,” said Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke. “From now on, it is illegal to have cigarettes or vapes on display, that is visible, in a store. It is not a prohibition on buying this stuff. You can buy it, but you have to ask the vendor.”

    No specific guidance or material on how to handle tobacco products was provided to retailers. Each shop has had to find its own solution to the display ban, from handmade plastic curtains to sophisticated shelves that automatically light up when opened.

    “It is annoying because the government hasn’t given us any supply,” said news and tobacco shop owner Jenny Van Vaerenbergh. “They should have provided the necessary equipment.”

  • Belgium’s Cigarette Black Market Soars

    Belgium’s Cigarette Black Market Soars

    Cimabel, the cigarette manufacturers’ federation for Belgium and Luxembourg, said that 36.5% of consumed cigarettes in Belgium dodged taxation in 2024, a staggering increase from the 20% in 2023. While only 1% of the cigarettes are counterfeit, Cimabel blames “excessive” tax hikes imposed by the previous federal government on legal products are allowing organized crime syndicates to smuggle in illicit product from Bulgaria to sell significantly cheaper.

    Already with a reputation as a smuggling hub for arms and drugs, Cimabel warns that Belgium authorities are now tasked with getting on the global bandwagon to reduce cigarette smoking without opening the door for criminals.

    “The state is hemorrhaging revenue while criminals rake in millions,” Cimabel said. “The federation is now calling for a rethink on excise policies, urging the government to strike a balance between public health and stopping illicit traders from lighting up their profits.” 

  • Belgium’s Largest-Ever Illegal Cigarette Factory Discovered

    Belgium’s Largest-Ever Illegal Cigarette Factory Discovered

    On Thursday (Feb. 20), Belgian customs officials seized 30 million cigarettes in Lommel (Limbourg), raiding the largest illegal cigarette factory ever discovered in the country. The illicit cigarettes represented more than €14.4 million in evaded taxes.

    Authorities uncovered a fully operational production facility with four complete production and packaging lines running continuously. Approximately 50 people, mainly of Ukrainian, Moldovan, and Romanians, were working at the site. Customs officers also confiscated several tons of tobacco and various branded cigarettes stored in the warehouse.

    This is the first clandestine factory uncovered in 2025, following a record year in 2024 when 12 illegal cigarette production sites were dismantled.

  • Belgium Finds Violations in 80% of Shisha Bars

    Belgium Finds Violations in 80% of Shisha Bars

    Belgium’s  Ministry of Public Health announced yesterday that more than 80% of the nation’s shisha bars were found to have violations. Of the 131 shisha bars inspected, 106 violated the smoking ban regulation and 107 offered non-compliant tobacco products, according to L’Avenir.

    Smoking tobacco is allowed in shisha bars, but only outside or in designated smoking rooms with a smoke extraction system and restricted space, as mandated by the tobacco regulations. Non-compliant smoking rooms along with the sale of non-compliant tobacco products were reported to be the two main issues found, followed by improper tobacco labeling and illegal tobacco advertising.