Smoking in Netherlands
In the Netherlands, smoking is legal but should follow tobacco control regulations. Cigarettes are regulated as tobacco products that can be sold through retail outlets, including online sales, while purchases through vending machines are not permitted. The importation of cigarettes for trade is allowed with a trade license. However, health warnings on packaging are mandatory, the legal minimum age for purchase is 18 years, and smoking in public places face restrictions. Also, a complete ban on all forms of tobacco advertising is in place. Cigarettes in the Netherlands are taxed at a total rate of 76.95%, including an excise rate of 54.59%. Smoking continues to pose a substantial public health burden in the Netherlands. In 2024, the number of current smokers among adults aged 15 years and older was approximately 3.0 million. This represents an overall adult smoking prevalence of 19.3%. In the same year, smoking prevalence was higher among males (22%) than among females (16.7%). This prevalence was 20.1% in 2022. In 2023, the adult daily tobacco smoking prevalence was reported to be 8.4%, with an estimated 2.2 million daily smokers. In 2021, smoking caused approximately 21,306 deaths in the Netherlands, including 13,186 deaths among males and 8,120 among females. This shows that overall, tobacco smoking accounted for 12.55% of all deaths in the country in 2021, including 15.49% of all male deaths and 9.59% of all female deaths.
Read articles from Netherlands
February 06, 2020 by dutchnews.nl
Medicine is no panacea to combat tobacco addiction: experts
The number of smokers attempting to kick the habit with the aid of prescription drugs went up 35% in the five years to 2017, but medicine should not be seen as a panacea, experts say. Around one third of the Netherlands’ three million smokers attempt to stop every year but just 5% of those who do it without any form of help manage to do so, according to new research by the Dutch medicines agency CBG.
October 07, 2019 by dutchnews.nl
Lung specialists step up calls for ban on ‘harmful’ e-cigarettes
Dutch lung specialists have called for a total ban on e-cigarettes on the grounds that they cause lung disease and do nothing to prevent smoking. ‘We want a complete ban on e-cigarettes in the Netherlands, Leon van Toorn, of lung specialists’ association NVALT told AD. The association, which last month conducted a survey among its member to gauge the extent of the problem in the Netherlands, said the number of Dutch people reporting lung problems after vaping has risen from three to eight.
June 01, 2018 by dutchnews.nl
Dutch health minister calls for cafe terrace smoking ban
Junior health minister Paul Blokhuis wants to ban smoking on cafe terraces and says tough new rules will be unavoidable to really tackle smoking, Dutch media reported on Thursday. ‘I don’t think we can avoid tougher measures,’ he said. ‘We have a long way to go to catch up,’ he said, referring to the US where smoking rules are much stricter than in the Netherlands. Blokhuis told NOS radio he is working together with social organisations, centres [...]
May 17, 2018 by dutchnews.nl
Minister to draw up rules for use of smoke-free electronic cigarettes
Junior health minister Paul Blokhuis is drawing up rules to cover the use of electronic cigarettes which heat tobacco but don’t make smoke. There are currently no restrictions on the use of inhalers such as the Philip Morris IQOS because they don’t fall under the current tobacco laws. The minister is planning to change this, which would mean the inhalers would be subject to an age limit, a ban on advertising and new packaging.
May 10, 2018 by nltimes.nl
NETHERLANDS WITHDRAWS FROM INTERNATIONAL CIGARETTE ADVICE COMMITTEE: REPORT
The Netherlands is immediately withdrawing from an international committee that gives the tobacco industry advice on measuring nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide in their products, according to newspaper Trouw.
The national institute for public health RIVM and the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority NVWA believe that the tobacco industry has too much influence on the committee, and therefore decided to withdraw. [...]
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