Belgium bans display of tobacco products in shops

A new law implemented in Belgium on Tuesday prevents cigarettes or any tobacco products from being put on display in shops.

Supermarkets and other shops bigger than 400 square meters are also now forbidden to sell cigarettes altogether.

The measures are intended to limit the visibility of cigarettes and other addictive products, with the hope of curbing impulse purchases, and together form part of a plan to eliminate tobacco use altogether.

Under the supervision of Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke, the policy programme began on 1 January with a ban on disposable e-cigarettes.

"Our ambition is to have a smoke free generation by 2040," explained Vandenbroucke, who denies that a full-blown cigarette ban is on the cards.

"From now on, it is illegal to have cigarettes or vapes on display, that is visible, in a store. It is not a prohibition on buying this stuff. You can buy it, but you have to ask the vendor", he said.

Shops prepare to adjust

No specific guidance or material on how to handle tobacco products from now on has been provided to retailers. Each shop has had to find its own solution to the display ban, from handmade plastic curtains to sophisticated shelves that automatically light up when opened.

"It is annoying because they (the government) haven't given us any supply," said news and tobacco shop owner Jenny Van Vaerenbergh. "They should have provided the necessary equipment."

Malak Chatouany, a student in Brussels and a smoker herself, said that just hiding a product won't change people's habits.

"We are talking about addictions," she said, "and people won't stop all of a sudden only because it is no longer on display in shops."

But others welcome the measure as a tool to prevent young Belgians from taking up smoking in the first place.

"I think that it is a good measure because I would not like my child to start smoking, because quitting smoking is really difficult," said Emilie Fayt, another smoker.

The next phase of the plan, a ban on smoking in public terraces, is yet to be approved by Belgian legislators.