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Tag: Belgium

  • Luxembourg Sees 17% Surge in Cigarette Sales as Buyers Cross Border

    Luxembourg Sees 17% Surge in Cigarette Sales as Buyers Cross Border

    Legal cigarette sales in Luxembourg jumped by 740 million units in 2024, marking a 17% year-on-year increase, according to a new KPMG report on illicit cigarette consumption across Europe. Despite the surge, only 12% of the 5.1 billion cigarettes sold were smoked within the country, as the remaining 88% were consumed across the border, mostly in Germany, Belgium, and France, where significantly higher tobacco prices continue to drive cross-border purchases.

    Luxembourg’s average cigarette pack price of €5.10 undercuts neighboring countries by up to €3, and is less than half of the cost in France.

    While cigarette consumption is booming, illicit trade remains low. Fewer than 9 million cigarettes consumed in Luxembourg were illicit—just 2% of total consumption. By contrast, France’s illicit cigarette rate has climbed to 38%, among the highest in the EU, as high prices fuel a parallel underground market.

  • Belgium Losing €544M from Illegal and Foreign Cigarettes

    Belgium Losing €544M from Illegal and Foreign Cigarettes

    Legal cigarette sales in Belgium continued to fall in 2024, while the volume of counterfeit and smuggled products increased significantly, according to the 19th annual report by consultancy firm KPMG, commissioned by Philip Morris International.

    Nearly 2.4 billion cigarettes consumed in Belgium last year came from non-domestic sources, a 17% increase compared to the previous year, meaning nearly one in three cigarettes smoked in the country were not purchased through Belgian sales channels. While domestically-produced sales declined, 1.1 billion cigarettes in Belgium were legally purchased abroad last year, an increase of 22%. The volume of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes in the country also grew, by 13%, to 1.3 billion.

    Imports from Bulgaria tripled since 2020 to 770 million cigarettes last year, as did those from Luxembourg at 740 million in 2024. According to KPMG, the shift to illegal or foreign products is estimated to have cost the Belgian government around €544 million in lost tax revenue last year.

  • Belgium Tobacco Display Ban Goes into Effect

    Belgium Tobacco Display Ban Goes into Effect

    Belgium’s new laws to limit the visibility of cigarettes and other nicotine products, with the hope of curbing impulse purchases, went into effect yesterday (April 1). Cigarettes and other tobacco products can no longer be displayed in shops and stores larger than 400 square meters are banned from selling such products altogether. This is the second phase of a program that included the ban of disposable e-cigarettes beginning Jan. 1.

    “Our ambition is to have a smoke-free generation by 2040,” said Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke. “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.”

    No specific guidance or material on how to handle tobacco products was 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 the government hasn’t given us any supply,” said news and tobacco shop owner Jenny Van Vaerenbergh. “They should have provided the necessary equipment.”

  • Belgium’s Cigarette Black Market Soars

    Belgium’s Cigarette Black Market Soars

    Cimabel, the cigarette manufacturers’ federation for Belgium and Luxembourg, said that 36.5% of consumed cigarettes in Belgium dodged taxation in 2024, a staggering increase from the 20% in 2023. While only 1% of the cigarettes are counterfeit, Cimabel blames “excessive” tax hikes imposed by the previous federal government on legal products are allowing organized crime syndicates to smuggle in illicit product from Bulgaria to sell significantly cheaper.

    Already with a reputation as a smuggling hub for arms and drugs, Cimabel warns that Belgium authorities are now tasked with getting on the global bandwagon to reduce cigarette smoking without opening the door for criminals.

    “The state is hemorrhaging revenue while criminals rake in millions,” Cimabel said. “The federation is now calling for a rethink on excise policies, urging the government to strike a balance between public health and stopping illicit traders from lighting up their profits.” 

  • Belgium’s Largest-Ever Illegal Cigarette Factory Discovered

    Belgium’s Largest-Ever Illegal Cigarette Factory Discovered

    On Thursday (Feb. 20), Belgian customs officials seized 30 million cigarettes in Lommel (Limbourg), raiding the largest illegal cigarette factory ever discovered in the country. The illicit cigarettes represented more than €14.4 million in evaded taxes.

    Authorities uncovered a fully operational production facility with four complete production and packaging lines running continuously. Approximately 50 people, mainly of Ukrainian, Moldovan, and Romanians, were working at the site. Customs officers also confiscated several tons of tobacco and various branded cigarettes stored in the warehouse.

    This is the first clandestine factory uncovered in 2025, following a record year in 2024 when 12 illegal cigarette production sites were dismantled.

  • Belgium Finds Violations in 80% of Shisha Bars

    Belgium Finds Violations in 80% of Shisha Bars

    Belgium’s  Ministry of Public Health announced yesterday that more than 80% of the nation’s shisha bars were found to have violations. Of the 131 shisha bars inspected, 106 violated the smoking ban regulation and 107 offered non-compliant tobacco products, according to L’Avenir.

    Smoking tobacco is allowed in shisha bars, but only outside or in designated smoking rooms with a smoke extraction system and restricted space, as mandated by the tobacco regulations. Non-compliant smoking rooms along with the sale of non-compliant tobacco products were reported to be the two main issues found, followed by improper tobacco labeling and illegal tobacco advertising.

  • France Bans Disposable E-Cigarettes

    France Bans Disposable E-Cigarettes

    With a final vote in the Senate’s upper house, the French parliament today banned single-use electronic cigarettes, accusing them of being gateways to tobacco addiction for teenagers and harmful to the environment. France is the second EU country to enact such a ban, joining Belgium which did it in December.

    “It is a great victory in a two-pronged battle that we were fighting: an environmental battle against the polluting lithium batteries in these ‘puffs’, and a health battle for our schoolchildren,” lawmaker Francesca Pasquini, the author of the bill, said.

    “A fine piece of cross-party work!” lawmaker Michel Lauzzana said on X. “We are now awaiting the promulgation of this law and its application throughout the country.”

    The legislation was earlier approved by the National Assembly lower house.

  • Belgium First in EU to Ban Disposable Vapes

    Belgium First in EU to Ban Disposable Vapes

    Belgium will ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes as of Jan. 1 on health and environmental grounds in a groundbreaking move for European Union nations.

    Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke said the inexpensive e-cigarettes had turned into a health threat since they are an easy way for teenagers to be drawn into smoking and get hooked on nicotine.

    “Disposable e-cigarettes is a new product simply designed to attract new consumers,” he said in an interview, according to NPR.

    Because they are disposable, the plastic, battery and circuits are a burden on the environment. On top of that, “they create hazardous waste chemicals still present in what people throw away,” Vandenbroucke said, adding that he wants tougher tobacco measures in the 27-nation bloc.

    “We are really calling on the European Commission to come forward now with new initiatives to update, to modernize, the tobacco legislation,” he said.

    There is an understanding of Belgium’s decision, even in some shops selling electronic cigarettes, and especially on the environmental issue.

    Once the cigarette is empty, “the battery is still working. That’s what is terrible, is that you could recharge it, but you have no way of recharging it,” said Steven Pomeranc, owner of the Brussels Vapotheque shop. “So you can imagine the level of pollution it creates.”

    A ban usually means a financial loss to the industry, but Pomeranc thinks it will not hurt too much.

    “We have a lot of alternative solutions which are also very easy to use,” he said. “Like this pod system, which are pre-filled with liquid, which can just be clipped into the rechargeable e-cigarette. So we will simply have a shift of clients towards this new system.”

  • Record Number of Illegal Factories Raided in Belgium

    Record Number of Illegal Factories Raided in Belgium

    Photo: Europol

    Belgian authorities on Oct. 21 dismantled the 11th illegal cigarette factory since the start of 2024, reports The Brussels Times, citing an announcement by the Ministry of Finance. Nineteen suspects from Ukraine, Romania and Lithuania were taken into custody for questioning.

    Police and customs seized around 11 tons of tobacco and 5.6 million Rothmans and Marlboro Touch cigarettes. If sold legally, the products would have yielded the state €6.2 million in tax receipts.

    While this marks a new record number of illicit manufacturers uncovered within a year, it does not necessarily reflect an increase in criminal activity, according to Ministry of Finance spokesperson Florence Angelici. “We know what we catch,” he was quoted as saying.

    However, Angelici acknowledged that there has been a general increase in demand for cheap illegal cigarettes, due in part to the rising prices of tobacco products.

    Around 13 percent of illicit cigarettes in the EU were consumed in Belgium last year, according to a report commissioned by Philip Morris International. Angelici highlighted that many of the cigarettes produced in the country are not intended for domestic sales, but tend to be smuggled to countries to high-price markets such as the U.K. and France.

    Belgium’s proximity to leading illegal cigarette markets, as well as its ports and large road networks, make it “very interesting” destination for those involved not only in the production but also I  tbe smuggling of illicit products, said Angelici.

    According to him, the illicit cigarette trade is a well-organized criminal activity. “You will have people specialized in installing machines; then those who will bring trucks. It’s a logistic network,” he said.

    Tackling the issue on a European or global scale can be difficult due to the different national legislations.

     Almost 205 million cigarettes were seized in Belgium in 2024. This represents around €96 million in evaded tax, according to the Ministry of Finance.

  • Belgian Retailers Required to Hide Tobacco Next Year

    Belgian Retailers Required to Hide Tobacco Next Year

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Retailers in Belgium will be banned from displaying tobacco products effective April 1, 2025, reports EuroWeekly. The rule also applies to vapes, filters and rolling papers.

    Violators risk penalties of up to one year of imprisonment and fines from €2,000 ($2,178) to €800,000.

    Originally scheduled for Jan. 1, 2025, the implementation has been delayed by three months.

    Earlier this year, the Belgian government raised cigarette prices through taxation and committed to expanding smoke-free public spaces.

    VapeBel, representing vape retailers and distributors, expressed disappointment, arguing that specialized stores are crucial for age verification and educating adult smokers about vaping.

    To help customers identify the products on offer, authorities suggest retailers display price lists detailing product names and brands without logos.