Like their Dutch neighbours, Belgians have suffered under an increasingly draconian nanny state in recent years. A tax on vape juice was introduced in January 2024 at a rate of €1.50 per standard (10ml) bottle and Belgium became the first EU country to ban disposable vapes in January 2025. A tobacco display ban is due to be introduced in April 2025 and Belgium’s smoking ban, which allows some indoor smoking rooms, has been extended to train stations, zoos, playgrounds and some other outdoor spaces. A ban on tobacco vending machines in the hospitality industry was introduced in December 2023.

Plain packaging for tobacco products went into effect in January 2020. Belgium is now one of eight EU countries to have introduced this policy. In January 2021, the last vestiges of tobacco advertising - including posters inside and outside of tobacconists - were banned. E-cigarettes were legalised as consumer products in 2016, but internet sales and cross-border sales are banned and e-cigarette advertising is banned nearly everywhere. Vaping is banned wherever smoking is banned, with possible fines ranging from €208 to €8,000. This means that it is illegal to vape in an e-cigarette shop. Vaping and smoking in a vehicle with a person under the age of 18 has been banned since 2019.

Taxes on beer and wine are at a relatively low level, but spirits and cigarettes get tougher treatment. A major tax hike in January 2024 saw the price of cigarettes rise by around €2 overnight. Restrictions on alcohol advertising are modest, but growing. In January 2025, alcohol advertising was banned within 150 metres of schools In December 2019, Brussels city council approved a ban on drinking at any time of day in the central pedestrian zone. This was extended to a wider area in October 2020 and there are plans to widen it sill further.

A tax on soft drinks of €0.03 cents per litre was introduced in January 2016 and has since been increased to €0.119 per litre. Although the government describes this as a ‘health tax’, it applies to drinks which contain no sugar or calories. The Belgian government now collects more revenue from the sugar tax than it does from wine duty.

As if that were not enough, the government banned the sale of nicotine pouches (and CBD pouches) in October 2023. Every year brings another clampdown on pleasure.

With thanks to Xavier Meulders