Belgium To Ban Smoking On Public Terraces And In Cigar Lounges
The regulatory grip on cigars and tobacco has tightened once more. Amid a global climate that includes proposals to ban tobacco outright and increasing limitations placed on cigar smokers, Belgium has further strengthened its anti-tobacco stance. The nation recently announced it will ban smoking and vaping on public terraces and in virtually all indoor, dedicated smoking rooms, including bars, airports, hookah establishments and even cigar lounges. The new regulations are set to take effect on January 1, 2027.
The ban will apply to all traditional tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, pipes) and e-cigarettes. These products cannot be consumed on any outdoor terrace, nor within 10 meters of a terrace. Violations of the rule can result in a fine and businesses that encourage smoking in any respect, like for example, putting out an ashtray, will also be subject to a fine. The new rules will require hospitality businesses to display clear no-smoking signs and intervene if customers break the rules.
Smoking will also be banned in most indoor, public spaces dedicated specifically to the act, that includes anywhere from bars to airport smoking rooms and even cigar lounges. Paradoxically, while smoking will be banned in indoor public spaces, it will remain legal in Belgian prisons, as smoking rooms in penitentiaries will still be allowed. Paul Varakas, director general of the European Cigar Manufacturers’ Association, summed up this contradiction quite potently in a statement: “Decision-making in Belgium has now reached one of its lowest points where individuals imprisoned for committing crimes would have more smoking rights than adults simply wanting to occasionally consume cigars,” he said. “The text will now be discussed in Parliament where we hope to see the cigar community raise its voices to defend the right to smoke cigars in a considerate manner.”
The latter point made by Varakas denotes the lack of finality that still remains in regards to this ban. The new legislation was approved by Belgium’s Council of Ministers on September 12, before being formally announced by the country’s health minister, Frank Vandenbroucke. For those unfamiliar, in Belgium, the Council of Ministers, made up of typically 15 ministers and chaired by the Prime Minister, functions as the “federal government” alongside the country’s federal Parliament. The Council has the power to implement legislation, meaning it can draft bills, propose and revise amendments and more. A bill can also only become law in Belgium once it has been approved by Parliament and signed by the King and the Council of Ministers.
Decisions from the Council of Ministers are generally summarized in short documents known as “notifications.” Those notifications are then sent to Parliament, who have the right to contest them. This is the stage the new ban is currently in. It’s not law just yet, but of course, it’s in a favorable position to become such.
“With these measures, we prevent children and adults from being involuntarily exposed to harmful cigarette smoke and ensure that people are not tempted to light up,” said health minister Vandenbroucke in a statement. The one-size-fits-all label is unfortunately common for the cigar industry, despite not being the main target in most contexts. But as Fred Vandermarliere—CEO of Vandermarliere Family of Cigars, the parent company of Oliva Cigar Co.—lays out, often more harm than good is done with broad applications of law. “The gain for public health with such a law, in my opinion, is close to zero, in terms of premium cigars and cigars in general,” he says. “We’re of course very very very disappointed, as a citizen of a country, as a company owner and as a person.”
Vandermarliere Family of Cigars has ties to the cigar industry that go back nearly 100 years, when the company was known as J. Cortès Cigars N.V. The company, started by Vandermarliere’s grandfather, made its name with machine-made cigars and tobacco products, mostly for Europe. Under Vandermarliere’s leadership, the company acquired Oliva in 2016. The latest smoking ban naturally obscures future visions for Vandermarliere Family of Cigars in Belgium, but Fred Vandermarliere says they’ll continue to press forward with construction of a new distribution center in the country and that they hope to be an example of the good in the cigar industry.
“It has become a really ugly and sad political game where people do not think of the reality of a law but they think what’s in it for me,” says Vandermarliere. The hope now is that the extreme nature of the bill leaves room for finding middle ground. “As a cigarmaker in Europe, you have to be a born optimist,” he adds. “That doesn’t mean we will not continue our fight.”
From a pragmatic perspective, Vandermarliere hopes, in the very least, the line will be drawn at Belgium, rather than the country serving as a harbinger for things to come in Europe. Nations across the continent continuously demonstrate anti-tobacco leanings, as seen in France and the U.K. as of late. The question is whether the latest actions in Belgium will move the needle even further. “We should make sure that we have all voices ready and standing up,” says Vandermarliere.
