Belgium, the first EU country to ban sale of disposable vapes from 2025
11 July 2024
On Tuesday 19 March, the European Commission approved a Belgian bill intended to ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes in the country. At the end of December 2022, the Belgian government published the 2022-2028 inter-federal strategy for a tobacco-free generation, aiming at reducing the number of smokers aged 15-24 to 6% or less by 2028.
Part of this strategy is a bill that bans the sale of single-use vapes by 1 January 2025. For the national law to take effect, Belgium needed to have the green light from the Commission according to the EU Tobacco Products Directive, in force since 2014. For the moment, only vapes containing nicotine will be banned, even though Belgium would have preferred vapes without nicotine to be included. Now, a Royal Decree is being prepared that will enforce this ban.
For the Belgian Federal Heath Minister, Frank Vandenbroucke, “this step is a major blow to the power and status quo of the tobacco lobby”.
Belgium is the first country in EU to implement such legislation with countries such as France, Germany and Ireland, reportedly, working on developing similar legislation. In fact, in France, the draft law is ready to be submitted to the Commission to receive approval before it can become national law.
Apart from the health benefits for young people, the ban on sale of disposable vapes is essential from an environmental point of view since single-use vapes are a rising litter challenge for the authorities. Examples from countries like the United Kingdom (see here) showcase that users are not informed on how to properly dispose of single-use electronic cigarettes thus resulting in litter.
For any new developments on this issue, the Secretariat will keep you informed.
Part of this strategy is a bill that bans the sale of single-use vapes by 1 January 2025. For the national law to take effect, Belgium needed to have the green light from the Commission according to the EU Tobacco Products Directive, in force since 2014. For the moment, only vapes containing nicotine will be banned, even though Belgium would have preferred vapes without nicotine to be included. Now, a Royal Decree is being prepared that will enforce this ban.
For the Belgian Federal Heath Minister, Frank Vandenbroucke, “this step is a major blow to the power and status quo of the tobacco lobby”.
Belgium is the first country in EU to implement such legislation with countries such as France, Germany and Ireland, reportedly, working on developing similar legislation. In fact, in France, the draft law is ready to be submitted to the Commission to receive approval before it can become national law.
Apart from the health benefits for young people, the ban on sale of disposable vapes is essential from an environmental point of view since single-use vapes are a rising litter challenge for the authorities. Examples from countries like the United Kingdom (see here) showcase that users are not informed on how to properly dispose of single-use electronic cigarettes thus resulting in litter.
For any new developments on this issue, the Secretariat will keep you informed.
