Tag: Netherlands

Illicit Cigarette Sales up in the Netherlands

Photo: mitarart
Illicit cigarette sales in the Netherlands are rising in the wake of tax hikes, according to Dutch News.
Researchers collect empty cigarette packs every two years to identify their origins, and in 2023, 25 percent contained cigarettes that had not been subject to Dutch tobacco duties, up from 15 percent in 2021.
The research showed that 19 percent of the cigarettes were bought in other countries, but 4 percent were either fake branded cigarettes or had been smuggled into the country, up from 1 percent in the previous study.
“The big profits criminals can make with duty fraud and illegal production and trade are building up criminal assets,” the ministries said in a briefing. “And that allows them to finance other criminal activities.”
RIVM, a public health institute, also released research showing that smokers buy about 10 percent of their tobacco abroad, either by importing it themselves or having others import it for them.
According to the RIVM research, price increases aid in quitting, with 28 percent of participants stating they tried to quit and 18 percent successfully quitting.
Earlier this year, the price of a pack of cigarettes increased by about €1 ($1.08) to €11.10 per pack of 20. The increase aims to curb smoking rates.
The price of rolling tobacco packs increased by €3.60 to €24, with further increases expected. Cigarette taxes are now around €7.81 per pack.
June 12, 2024
Digital Age Checks Deployed in Netherlands

Similar technology has also been trialed in Italy. (Photo: Innovative Technologies)
Parts of the Netherlands have implemented face scanners to check consumers’ ages before selling cigarettes to them, according to Dutch News.
About 100 outlets have opted for face scanners so far. The camera uses artificial intelligence to scan a customer’s face and estimates their age based on features such as skin condition and wrinkles. If the customer is thought to be over 25, the transaction can continue, but if not, the machine will ask to scan the customer’s ID.
“The process is similar to that at airports,” said Theo Snijders, CEO of H@nd, the scan-making firm.
The legal framework was devised with product safety organization NVWA, privacy watchdogs and lawyers to ensure that customers’ personal data are not compromised. The scanners do not store data and only record the number of scans. According to Snijders, a scan is not a condition for buying tobacco as that would be illegal.
Sellers caught not complying with age check requirements could face fines up to €9,000 or a temporary loss of their license to sell tobacco products.
Beginning July 2024, tobacco products can only be legally sold at specialist stores and gas stations.
Tech firms and vape stores have been experimenting with digital age-verification tools in various markets. Tobacco Reporter profiled one such project in Italy in its December 2023 edition. (See “Beyond Face Value”).
April 5, 2024
Netherlands Probes Tobacconist Support

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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.
March 15, 2024
Dutch Retail Bonuses Not Advertising

Photo: fizkes
Paying retailers bonuses for meeting sales targets does not represent a violation of tobacco advertising restrictions, the Netherlands’ top business court ruled, reports Dutch News.
The product safety board NVWA fined 11 manufacturers and wholesalers for giving bonuses to shopkeepers who sold pre-agreed-upon quantities of cigarettes or placed products in highly visible spots. The NVWA stated that these practices were against the tobacco advertising ban. The companies, however, argued that they were “quite normal business practices.”
The Dutch business court found that the NVWA applied the law too widely, stating that advertising only exists if its purpose is to encourage consumers to use the products.
Starting July 1, supermarkets in the Netherlands will be banned from selling tobacco. Beginning 2032, only specialist tobacco shops will be allowed to sell cigarettes and rolling tobacco.
February 21, 2024
Tobacco Ban Will Cost Dutch Supermarkets

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Supermarkets will lose more than €1.5 billion ($1.64 billion) in earnings due to the ban on selling tobacco products that takes effect in the Netherlands on July 1, reports the NL Times, citing ING.
Some 35 percent of tobacco sales will shift to tobacconists and smaller convenience stores, according to researchers at the bank.
Gasoline stations and shops just over the border in Belgium and Germany are also set to benefit from the Dutch supermarket tobacco ban.
Tobacco accounts for around 7 percent of a typical Dutch supermarket’s revenue—the equivalent of roughly €3.2 billion in total annually.
“The revenue drop will be more visible during the second half of 2024,” said ING economist Thijs Geijer. Most supermarkets, except for Lidl and most Albert Heijn shops, will continue selling tobacco for the first six months of the year.
“Because it is introduced on July 1, the ban will continue to reduce the turnover growth for supermarkets in 2025 significantly,” Geijer predicted.
January 15, 2024
Supermarkets Dodging Ban With Tobacco Shops

Dutch supermarkets are opening specialist tobacco shops next to their food retail stores in anticipation of a tobacco sales ban set to come into force on July 1, reports Dutch News.
Beginning in July, the Netherlands will prohibit supermarkets from selling cigarettes and rolling tobacco, but tobacconist shops can be opened without a license.
TabakNee, an anti-tobacco group, is pushing for the introduction of licenses to sell tobacco.
“There was a lot of demand,” said Rolf Hoogkamer, a Jumbo franchise owner who opened a specialist store next to his shop. “It is often older people who live in the flats near here and can’t walk far. They can now easily still pick up [their cigarettes] and that is a good thing.”
“There is a 7.5 percent profit margin on each packet,” said Hoogkamer. The total tobacco product market reached €4.4 billion ($4.8 billion) in 2020, €2.4 billion of which came from supermarkets.
“Some 7 percent of our turnover comes from tobacco, so you are talking about €700 million a year,” Jumbo chief executive Ton van Veen said.
The outgoing government has raised taxes, bringing the price of a 20-pack of cigarettes to €10, banned advertising and introduced plain packaging. Tobacco sales will be restricted to specialist stores only by 2032.
The government agreed to leave the issue of tobacco shop licensing to the next administration.
January 10, 2024
Vapers Hoarding Ahead of Flavor Ban

Image: fotodiya83
Vapers in the Netherlands have been stocking up on products ahead of a flavor ban set to take effect in 2024, reports the NL Times, citing Emil ‘t Hart of the Esigbond Trade Association.
“You see that the consumers are hoarding as much as possible in the specialist stores,” ‘t Hart was quoted as saying. “Especially the real vapers who had switched over from cigarettes are hoarding.”
From Jan. 1, 2024, stores will not be allowed to sell vapes or fluids with flavors like peach, mango or mint. Only products with the taste of tobacco will be permitted. The government hopes its measure will prevent youngsters from starting the nicotine habit and then migrating to combustible products.
‘t Hart believes the measure will be counterproductive, however. “People who have smoked regular cigarettes before turning to e-cigarettes would then be tempted to go back to traditional cigarettes,” he said.
According to ‘t Hart many vapers have been buying their e-cigarettes online from sellers in France, Spain or China, or at physical stores in neighboring Belgium and Germany.
A legal challenge against the flavor ban, filed by the Esigbond in April, is currently making its ways through the courts. ‘t Hart expects a ruling this summer.
December 31, 2023
BAT Fined for Tax Avoidance

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A Netherlands court ordered BAT to pay a fine of €107 million ($117 million), reports Reuters. The court said BAT under-declared profit by €1.8 billion during the period of 2013 to 2016 and will owe taxes from that period.
“By far the largest part of the fines were imposed for an intentionally untrue tax claim for the transfer of company activities to the United Kingdom,” the Dutch North Holland District Court said in a summary of its judgment.
BAT called the decision “disappointing” and said it was considering appeal.
“BAT complies with all applicable tax legislation across all of our operating markets,” BAT said.
In April, BAT agreed to pay $635 million to U.S. authorities. A subsidiary pled guilty to charges that it conspired to violate U.S. sanctions by selling tobacco products to North Korea and commit bank fraud in 2013–2017.
December 18, 2023
Netherlands to Tax E-cigarettes

Photo: dbvirago
Dutch lawmakers on Oct. 26 voted for a motion to introduce a tax on vapor products, reports Dutch News. The move follows earlier reports that the Netherlands would not impose such a levy prior to the elections scheduled for November.
The government had been planning to wait until the introduction of Europe-wide legislation but given that is unlikely to happen before 2026, ministers agreed to take unilateral measures, if that is what MPs wanted.
One in five Dutch youngsters under the age of 25 uses e-cigarettes, and 70 percent of vapers also smoke tobacco cigarettes, according to the Trimbos addiction institute.
The 18 age limit for using vapes is also widely flouted and internet sales have flourished, De Telegraaf reported earlier this month.
Vaping is cheaper than smoking in the Netherlands, where a pack of cigarettes now retails for around €11 ($11.64). An e-cigarette with the equivalent of two packets of cigarettes in terms of nicotine costs around €6.
October 27, 2023
Netherlands: No Vapor Tax Before Elections

amazing studio
The Netherlands will not impose an excise tax on vapor products before the November 2023 elections, reports DutchNews.nl, citing De Telegraaf.
The news source added that even if the Netherlands received EU approval to impose a vapor product excise tax, the process would take several years to complete.
Although this current government did not work toward creating a vapor product excise tax, Junior Health Minister Maarten van Ooijen said that he would encourage the next cabinet to move ahead on a “national tax on e-cigarettes.” Van Ooijen added that such a tax would be “in the interests of public health.”
High cigarette prices have assisted smokers to move toward vapor products in recent years. However, the current cabinet focused on prohibiting flavored e-liquids and online vapor product sales to combat rising youth rates of vapor product usage.
“We need to take action against vapes as soon as possible to protect our children, as other EU countries have done,” Van Ooijen said.
The EU is expected to revise its Tobacco Products Directive in 2025.
October 17, 2023