Smoking is one of the main causes of disease and/or preventable death in Belgium. For this reason, the federal government is stepping up the battle against smoking. 

On Friday 27 October 2023, the cabinet again approved a large number of measures to ensure that people are encouraged more and more to stop smoking on the one hand, and not to start smoking in the first place on the other. 

For the Minister for Public Health, Frank Vandenbroucke, this set of measures is another step forward towards a smoke-free generation: “We want people, and particularly young people, to be better protected and come into less contact with tobacco or alternative smoking devices. For this reason, we are erecting more and more obstacles for the tobacco lobby to sell their unhealthy products. Meanwhile, we are extending a helping hand to smokers to aid them in stopping smoking.”

The full press release can be found below.