Smoking prevalence, vaping laws, snus in Netherlands

The overall trend for prevalence of current smokers in the general population in the Netherlands has been downwards since 2006. 19% of the population in the Netherlands were current smokers in 2017, down from 29% in 2006. The trend was mostly downwards during this period, but with no change between the 2009 and 2012 surveys (both 24%). These data come from the Eurobarometer surveys, the most recent of which was carried out in 2017. In the most recent survey a total of 27,901 respondents from different social and demographic groups were interviewed face-to-face at home, in their mother tongue, across all 28 of the EU countries. The sample for each country is representative, however the sample sizes are relatively small (e.g. most countries had just over 1000 participants, but for Italy, Malta and Lithuania the sample was around 500). Nevertheless, the Eurobarometer surveys are useful as they have estimates for smoking prevalence collected over a number of years which can show trends, as described here.

The Netherlands abides by the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) (2014). E-cigarettes and e-liquids are regulated under the amended Tobacco and Smoking Commodities Act (and delegated legislation: the Tobacco and Smoking Commodities Decree and the Tobacco and Smoking Commodities Order), which also regulates non-nicotine products. Unlike smoking, there are currently no legal restrictions on public vaping, however this is due to change from July 2020 when vaping will be banned in non-smoking areas, although consultations on the ban are still in progress. Manufacturers can apply for a medical license, however no such license has been granted so far. Cross border sales are allowed as long as retailers register with the authorities in each country. E-cigarette and e-liquid advertisement is prohibited, except in tobacco or e-cigarette specialist shops. It is also prohibited to give away free samples of e-cigarettes. Nicotine-containing and non-nicotine e-cigarettes or refills must not bear a name, mark, symbol or any recognisable feature of tobacco products. There is no excise tax on e-cigarettes.

There are no comments specific to snus in Netherlands in the database.

In the Netherlands, Article 19 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive covering novel tobacco products applies to heated tobacco products. Regulations cover reporting, notifications and health warning labels.

There are no comments specific to nicotine replacement therapy in Netherlands in the database.