The first EU nation to outlaw the selling of disposable vaporisers is Belgium.
In an attempt to prevent youth nicotine addiction and to safeguard the environment, Belgium became the first nation in the EU to outlaw the sale of disposable vape pens.
As of January 1, Belgium has prohibited the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes due to health and environmental concerns. On the same day that EU nations debate stricter tobacco regulations, Milan’s outdoor smoking ban went into effect.
Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgium’s health minister, called electronic cigarettes a “extremely harmful” product that harms both society and the environment when he announced the ban last year.
He told the Associated Press that disposable e-cigarettes are a new product that is just intended to draw in new customers. Nicotine is frequently found in e-cigarettes. Addiction to nicotine is caused by nicotine. Nicotine has negative health effects.
Additionally, the minister mentioned the “hazardous waste chemicals” found in the widely accessible and inexpensive disposable vapes.
Last year, Australia implemented a number of anti-smoking policies dubbed “world-leading,” including limiting the sale of all vapes to pharmacies. Beginning in June 2025, the sale of single-use vapes will be prohibited in England in an effort to curb the widespread use of these devices by minors and protect the environment.
Belgium is “playing a pioneering role in Europe to weaken the tobacco lobby,” according to Vandenbroucke, who also advocated for an overhaul of EU law.
In addition to pursuing additional measures to “discourage and denormalise” smoking, the nation aims to bring the number of new smokers down to zero or almost zero by 2040.
Playgrounds, sports fields, zoos, and theme parks are already prohibited from smoking, and starting on April 1, tobacco products will not be allowed to be sold in supermarkets larger than 400 square meters or exhibited at points of sale.
According to a 2018 official Belgian Health Interview study, 15.3% of people aged 15 and over smoked daily, compared to 25.5% in 1997. Although the government stated that more work was required to reach its tobacco-reduction targets, the 2023 survey, which is scheduled to be issued in September, is anticipated to show a further fall in smoking.
Smokers who light up in crowded public areas and on city streets risk fines ranging from €40 (£33) to €240. The prohibition is an extension of one that was put in place in 2021 and forbade smoking in playgrounds, parks, bus stops, and sports facilities.