Two-thirds of Businesses Sell E-cigarettes to Minors in Netherlands

According to an inspection by The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), tobacco and e-cigarettes are still readily available to minors in the Netherlands. As a result, NVWA announced that it would continue to conduct inspections to ensure businesses adhered to age restrictions.

NVWA's unannounced inspections (referring to law enforcement agencies conducting periodic spot checks and reviews on a particular area, business, or individual to confirm compliance with the law) covered 35 shops that sell e-cigarettes and cigarettes to young people under the age of 18. Two-thirds (23 of 35) of stores did not require ID and sold cigarettes and e-cigarettes to minors.

The NVWA sent 17-year-old testers to make test purchases to see how the stores sold. The NVWA will impose fines on stores that do not carry out age verification, ranging from 160 euros to 9,000 euros, depending on the inspection unit of violations and the number of employees.

NVWA stipulates that if a company is found to have three violations within one year, the company (or individual) must temporarily stop selling tobacco and e-cigarette-related products.

In December 2022, an inspection in Amsterdam revealed that 30 of the 51 shops inspected sold tobacco products and e-cigarettes to underage test buyers.

In its announcement, the NVWA said it would continue to conduct unannounced inspections to ensure businesses comply with the age restrictions. NVWA also calls on the public to actively participate and work together to achieve the goal of a smoke-free society.

According to 2FIRSTS, the Netherlands will amend and pass the new version of the Tobacco and Tobacco Products Law in 2022, banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes from January 1, 2023.

Reference:

Minderjarigen komen nog steeds te makkelijk aan tabak en vapes

Also read:

Dutch Lawmakers Proposed Neutral and Uniform E-cigarette Packaging