Belgium: Nearly one in two retailers sells tobacco and vaping products to minors

In Belgium, a recent survey conducted by the Federal Public Service for Health has revealed widespread non-compliance with the ban on selling tobacco and vaping products to minors. Based on real-world checks using "mystery shoppers," the study found that 54% of retailers agree to sell these products to minors, a level far exceeding the 3 to 4% of violations detected during standard administrative checks. The results, drawn from 902 inspections carried out in 2025, also highlight significant regional disparities.[1]-[2].

More than half of the traders in Belgium are in violation of the law.

A recent investigation conducted in Belgium by the FPS Public Health, based on checks carried out using "mystery shoppers", highlights a particularly high level of non-compliance with the ban on selling tobacco and vaping products to minors.

These operations were conducted in 2024 in 902 points of sale spread across the entire Belgian territory.

According to data provided by Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke at the request of MP Els Van Hoof, 54% of retailers agree to sell these products to minors under real purchase conditions, compared to only 3 to 4% of offences detected during simple classic administrative checks, limited for example to checking signage or verifying the training of salespeople.

They also highlight strong regional disparities: Wallonia appears to be the region most affected by offences, with 75 % of businesses inspected having sold tobacco or vaping products to minors, compared to 57 % in the Brussels-Capital region and 48 % in Flanders.

Beyond these regional disparities, the results highlight a structural problem with regulatory enforcement. In most cases, sales are made without age verification, contradicting legislation that was strengthened in 2019 by raising the legal age from 16 to 18. The particularly marked gap between the results of traditional checks and those from mystery shoppers underscores the limitations of current monitoring systems, which fail to accurately reflect actual sales practices.

These findings are part of a broader phenomenon of non-compliance with bans on sales to minors. Similar inspections carried out in 2025 on alcohol sales in 1,065 establishments revealed violations in 76% of cases. This parallel highlights widespread shortcomings in the enforcement of regulations designed to protect minors, underscoring the need to strengthen control mechanisms and their deterrent effect.

In France, this phenomenon is also documented.

The situation observed in Belgium has a direct parallel in France, where the violation of the ban on selling tobacco products to minors is also widespread. A recent survey conducted for the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT)[3], based on a "mystery shopper" type methodology, highlights worrying levels of infringement in points of sale.

Conducted by the Audirep Institute, this study is based on 1,000 visits made in pairs—a minor accompanied by an adult—to tobacconists and vaping shops across the country. The results indicate that 31% of tobacconists agree to sell tobacco products to minors, while 32% sell vaping products, most often without checking their identity. In specialized shops, the situation is very similar, with 34% of sales to minors accepted and no age verification in 77% of the establishments inspected.

These data highlight a significant level of non-compliance with regulations, which have been in force for several decades - the ban on the sale of tobacco to minors was introduced in 2003 and then extended to those under 18 in 2009, and the ban on vaping products in 2015. They also reveal territorial disparities, with higher rates of infringement in large urban areas and in certain regions, particularly in Île-de-France and Grand Est.

Beyond the observation, these results confirm that non-compliance with the ban on sales to minors is a structural phenomenon, observed in several countries due to insufficient controls and also non-deterrent offences in the event of prosecution.

However, many countries around the world implement this measure with particularly high rates of effectiveness, helping to restrict minors' access to tobacco and vaping products and thereby reducing the prevalence of their use.[4].

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE

[1] Cigarettes and vapes are sold to minors by 50% of retailers despite ban, The Brussels Times, published on April 9, 2026, accessed the same day

[2] In Brussels, more than one in two shopkeepers sells tobacco to minors, Brussels Today, published on April 9, 2026, accessed the same day

[3] Press release, One in three tobacconists still agrees to sell to minors without any identity checks., CNCT, published on November 12, 2025, accessed on April 10, 2026

[4] So that buying tobacco is no longer child's play! Xavier Elharrar^, Emmanuelle Béguinot^, Karine Gallopel-Morvan^, Christian Ben Lakhdar^, Yves Martinet, La Revue du Praticien, February 17, 2020 - 70(2);191