Taxes, ban on Puffs: Belgium publishes its anti-tobacco plan

December 22, 2022

Par: National Committee Against Smoking

Dernière mise à jour: August 6, 2024

Temps de lecture: 11 minutes

Taxes, interdiction des Puffs : la Belgique publie son plan de lutte contre le tabac

In Belgium, the Interministerial Conference on Public Health published its plan to combat tobacco, involving a joint commitment from the country's federal, regional and community ministers. This new plan defines the tobacco control strategy for the period 2022-2028, and details the arsenal of measures to achieve public health objectives[1].

The last two decades have seen a positive change in the smoking situation in Belgium. In 1997, the country had 25.5% daily smokers, compared to 15% today. This decline in smoking is particularly noticeable among the younger generations, since 11% of 15-24 year-olds report smoking daily, compared to 22% in 2013. Despite these encouraging figures, smoking has a major cost in Belgium: each year, tobacco is responsible for the premature death of at least 15,000 people per year. Smoking is also a financial burden on Belgian finances, since the tax revenues associated with tobacco sales are five times lower than what smoking costs society. As a result, the Belgian objective is in line with the European ambition of reducing the smoking prevalence of over-fifteens to below 5% by 2040. The public authorities have phased in the public health policy with the adoption of an intermediate health objective, aiming for a daily smoking prevalence of less than 10%, and less than 6% for 15-24 year-olds. To achieve this, the plan provides for a certain number of measures, including:

The fight against the influence of the tobacco industry in public decision-making

The tobacco control plan aims to tackle the interference of the tobacco industry in the preparation and implementation of public health policies. The influence of tobacco companies in public decision-making is in fact identified by the WHO as one of the main obstacles to improving the health situation. To achieve this objective, the plan provides for the drafting of guidelines, in order to better regulate relations between the tobacco industry and administrations and public authorities by 2024. In the same period of time, Belgium will have to implement implement a register of transparency of these contacts.

Expanding smoking bans in outdoor places

The Belgian public authorities have decided to increase the number of tobacco-free spaces with the aim of denormalizing tobacco consumption and combating passive smoking. Thus, by 2024, smoking will be banned in amusement parks, zoos, playgrounds and children's farms, but also on station platforms. The possibility of banning smoking in other places should be studied, such as bus shelters or beaches.

Improving health warnings on tobacco products

To date, cigarettes, hand-rolling tobacco and waterpipe tobacco must carry combined health warnings (text and photo), exempting other products such as cigars or cigarillos. Before the end of 2024, these combined health warnings must be affixed to all tobacco products and herbal smoking products. Furthermore, during this same period, the neutral package must be implemented for all of these same product categories. To deal with the proliferation of new products similar to tobacco products, particularly popular with young people despite the risk they pose to health, the tobacco control plan plans to implement generic regulations covering these new products, based on market research and regulatory gap analysis. Finally, at 1er January 2024, nicotine pouches, also called pouches, will be prohibited for sale, in the same way as cannabinoid pouches.

Limiting the accessibility of tobacco

As the scientific literature demonstrates, reducing the number of tobacco product sales outlets is an effective measure to reduce smoking consumption and initiation. Based on this assumption, the Belgian public authorities plan to ban the sale of tobacco in vending machines, in establishments in the hotel and catering sector, in non-permanent sales outlets such as festivals, or in food stores larger than 400 m². However, this measure will be gradually implemented until 2028. Despite this limitation, tobacco products will remain accessible in many sales outlets. To date, Belgium has more than 20,000 tobacco product sales outlets, a level comparable to that of France, whose population is six times larger. However, the implementation of broader restrictions is not excluded, since a study will have to be launched to assess the health and economic impact of further reductions in sales outlets.

Furthermore, tobacco products will no longer be able to be displayed at points of sale by 2026. This measure, also called display ban or removal of stalls, is part of a strategy to reduce the visibility of tobacco, and in compliance with the principle of banning advertising for tobacco products.

Strengthening controls on tobacco sales

To combat the growth of electronic commerce, the tobacco control plan aims in particular to strengthen the control of online platforms and customs controls, in order to guarantee the ban on the remote sale and purchase of tobacco products. tobacco. Before 2026, Belgium also wants to strengthen youth protection, by establishing the obligation for tobacco sellers to request proof of identity for “all people giving the impression of being younger than 25 years old.” ". In France, tobacconists, who hold a monopoly on the legal sale of tobacco products, are required to systematically ask for proof of identity, regardless of the real or supposed age of the person wishing to purchase tobacco.

Reducing the environmental consequences of tobacco consumption

The tobacco and nicotine industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. To reduce the environmental impact of this sector, the tobacco control plan announced the ban on disposable electronic cigarettes, also called Puffs, before the end of 2025. If this ban is motivated by reasons of preservation of environment, the plan also mentions the health risk posed by this new product. However, the document does not propose a strict definition of these products, despite the ambivalence that the notion of “disposable” implies.

Belgium is also committed to implementing the European directive on single-use plastics (SUP directive) by summer 2023. The three regions of the country are currently negotiating an Interregional Cooperation Agreement , aimed at forcing the tobacco industry to contribute to the cost of waste management and pollution associated with tobacco products. The implementation of this SUP directive will probably be the subject of particular attention on the part of anti-tobacco NGOs, in order to define the terms of this contribution from the tobacco industry. Thus, in France, the participation of the tobacco industry in the management of cigarette butts has not been exclusively financial: as a result, the eco-organization Alcome, approved by the French public authorities, is an emanation of the tobacco industry, and is mobilized by the latter as a tool of influence and communication.

At the same time, the Belgian public authorities wish to carry out campaigns to fight against environmental pollution by cigarette butts. These campaigns, focused exclusively on smokers, however remove the responsibility of the tobacco industry for the pollution caused by cigarette butts. Furthermore, other measures to combat cigarette butts have been adopted, even though they are identified as counterproductive by scientific literature, such as the distribution of pocket ashtrays. The latter, financed by the regions, will also be distributed in large-scale events, but also in places identified as strategic by the plan, although they are mainly frequented by young people (school outings, school campuses). ).

Strengthening monitoring of tobacco product consumption

From 2023, a survey will be carried out in Belgium each year on the consumption of tobacco products, in order to allow better monitoring of smokers' behavior than the current five-year studies. Furthermore, the plan also plans to set up between 2025 and 2026 a system for measuring the social cost of tobacco consumption, integrating both the impact on public health (mortality, years of healthy life lost), but also in terms of economics (medical costs, productivity losses).

Sustainable financing of tobacco control activities

Tobacco policies, to be fully effective, must be carried out over the long term, and according to a coherent and coordinated strategy. As a result, the results of the fight against smoking depend on the political game and the changes in majority, more or less favorable to the implementation of public health policies. Thus, the tobacco control plan aims to implement a sustainable financing mechanism for anti-tobacco activities, allowing the protection of public health policies. In this way, the plan plans to evaluate the possibility of setting up a financial contribution from companies marketing tobacco products which would contribute to a fund dedicated to the fight against tobacco.

Increase in tobacco taxes

Recognizing that tobacco tax increases are an effective tool for reducing tobacco consumption, the plan provides for a "significant increase in the general price level", based on annual increases that will ultimately achieve a price pack of 20 cigarettes for 10 euros. However, the document does not specify the extent of these increases, nor the date on which the price of the package must reach 10 euros. However, the scientific literature shows that tax increases are only effective if they are repeated, but also significant. Furthermore, the Belgian public authorities indicate that they are changing their strategy in the tax structuring of tobacco products, by increasing the proportion of specific excise duties and reducing the proportion of excise duties. ad valorem. If the only taxation ad valorem tends to favor manufacturers marketing less expensive brands, a tax policy based on specific excise duties favors brands with a so-called “premium” positioning. As a result, studies show that a tax policy requires the activation of these two levers, in order to avoid pushing consumers towards one brand category or another.

Smoking prevalence in Belgium is significantly lower than the French prevalence. Part of this gap is due to the fact that Belgium has implemented a developed control policy allowing good compliance with the provisions in force. In particular, Belgium has a service of controllers who penalize infringements of advertising, but also of sales to minors. In France, despite the adoption of a good regulatory framework, the low level of control does not guarantee proper compliance with the provisions. Thus, a study by the National Committee against Smoking showed in 2021 that two out of three French tobacconists continue to agree to sell tobacco to minors.

Keywords: Belgium, tobacco control plan, taxes, tobacco-free spaces, health warnings, vaping

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[1] General Drug Policy Unit, 2022-2028 interfederal strategy for a tobacco-free generation, 14/12/2022, (accessed 20/12/2022)

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