1 in 5 supermarkets, convenience stores violated cigarette sales ban in first six months
One in five supermarkets and hospitality businesses still sold cigarettes or vapes in the first six months of the tobacco ban, De Telegraaf reports based on a report from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Authority (NVWA). State Secretary Judith Tielen is working on significantly increasing the fines the NVWA can impose, among other things.
Supermarkets and hospitality establishments have been banned from selling cigarettes and other tobacco-related products since 1 July 2024. Their online sale is also prohibited.
The NVWA report shows that in the first six months of the ban, 21 percent of inspections found a violation. Compliance with the new rules was lowest in convenience stores and small supermarkets, and highest in large supermarkets and hospitality businesses.
“Every violation is one too many,” Tielen said. She is looking into expanding the NVWA’s powers to more thoroughly search stores during inspections, make it easier to seize potentially illegal products, and impose significantly higher fines. “The NVWA needs tools to enforce these kinds of cases.”
“We will, of course, do what we can to improve, but there are legal challenges and the legislative process takes a very long time,” Tielen said. She urged parents and schools, for example, to act against “young people on fat bikes with their backpacks full of vapes.”
