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Belgium taxes beer and wine at a relatively low level, but spirits and cigarettes get tougher treatment. Restrictions on alcohol advertising are modest. Belgium’s smoking ban, like that of most EU countries, allows designated smoking rooms in most venues, including the European Parliament. By law, smoking rooms have to be quite basic, with no televisions or pool tables, for example.
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 it is illegal to vape in an e-cigarette shop.
Like its Dutch neighbours, Belgium has seen a rise in nanny state activity in recent years, and there is more to come. Vaping or smoking in a vehicle with a person under the age of 18 has been banned since 2019. In January 2021, the last vestiges of tobacco advertising – including posters inside and outside of tobacconists – were banned.
Plain packaging for tobacco products went into effect on 1 January, 2020. Retailers were given a year to clear their branded stock. Belgium is now one of seven EU countries to have introduced this policy.
In December 2019, the 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 still further.
A tax on soft drinks of €0.03 cents per litre was introduced in January 2016 and has since been raised to €0.119 per litre. Although the government describes this as a ‘health tax’, it applies to drinks that contain no sugar or calories. The Belgian government now collects more revenue from the sugar tax than it does from wine duty.
The sale of all alcoholic beverages is now banned at fuel stations and from vending machines. It has been reported that there are plans to ban nicotine pouches, smoking rooms, disposable e-cigarettes, cigarette vending machines, and gambling advertisements as well as crack down on outdoor smoking and alcohol advertising. Expect Belgium to be higher up the table next time.
About
The Nanny State Index (NSI) is a league table of the worst places in Europe to eat, drink, smoke and vape. The initiative was launched in March 2016 and was a media hit right across Europe. It is masterminded and led by IEA’s Christopher Snowdon with partners from all over Europe.
Enquiries: info@epicenternetwork.eu
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Previous versions: 2021, 2019, 2017
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About the Editor
Christopher Snowdon is the head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs. His research focuses on lifestyle freedoms, prohibition and policy-based evidence. He is a regular contributor to the Spectator, Telegraph and Spiked and often appears on TV and radio discussing social and economic issues.
Snowdon’s work encompasses a diverse range of topics including ‘sin taxes’, state funding of charities, happiness economics, ‘public health’ regulation, gambling and the black market. Recent publications include ‘Drinking, Fast and Slow’, ‘The Proof of the Pudding: Denmark’s Fat Tax Fiasco’, ‘A Safer Bet’, and ‘You Had One Job’. He is also the author of ‘Killjoys’ (2017), ‘Selfishness, Greed and Capitalism’ (2015), ‘The Art of Suppression’ (2011), ‘The Spirit Level Delusion’ (2010), ‘Velvet Glove, Iron Fist’ (2009).
Belgium 2023
Belgium taxes beer and wine at a relatively low level, but spirits and cigarettes get tougher treatment. Restrictions on alcohol advertising are modest. Belgium’s smoking ban, like that of most EU countries, allows designated smoking rooms in most venues, including the European Parliament. By law, smoking rooms have to be quite basic, with no televisions or pool tables, for example.
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 it is illegal to vape in an e-cigarette shop.
Like its Dutch neighbours, Belgium has seen a rise in nanny state activity in recent years, and there is more to come. Vaping or smoking in a vehicle with a person under the age of 18 has been banned since 2019. In January 2021, the last vestiges of tobacco advertising – including posters inside and outside of tobacconists – were banned.
Plain packaging for tobacco products went into effect on 1 January, 2020. Retailers were given a year to clear their branded stock. Belgium is now one of seven EU countries to have introduced this policy.
In December 2019, the 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 still further.
A tax on soft drinks of €0.03 cents per litre was introduced in January 2016 and has since been raised to €0.119 per litre. Although the government describes this as a ‘health tax’, it applies to drinks that contain no sugar or calories. The Belgian government now collects more revenue from the sugar tax than it does from wine duty.
The sale of all alcoholic beverages is now banned at fuel stations and from vending machines. It has been reported that there are plans to ban nicotine pouches, smoking rooms, disposable e-cigarettes, cigarette vending machines, and gambling advertisements as well as crack down on outdoor smoking and alcohol advertising. Expect Belgium to be higher up the table next time.
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