In a decision made public on Tuesday (19 March), the European Commission announced its support for a Belgian bill to ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes in the country.

At the end of December 2022, the Belgian government published a so-called 2022-2028 inter-federal strategy for a tobacco-free generation, whose main aim is to reduce the number of smokers aged 15-24 to 6% or less by 2028.

To achieve this, the Belgian authorities have decided to ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes, also known as ‘puffs’ and used mainly by young people, from 1 January 2026.

In order to comply with European law, in particular the Tobacco Products Directive (Directive 2014/40/EU), Belgium needed to obtain the European Commission’s go-ahead to implement its new provisions.

“The national provisions banning the placing on the market of disposable electronic cigarettes containing nicotine, notified by the Kingdom of Belgium […], are approved,” says the Commission note, signed by Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.

For the time being, only puffs containing nicotine will be banned, although Belgium would have liked to see a ban on nicotine-free puffs as well.

“Given that only the placing on the market of disposable electronic cigarettes containing nicotine falls within the scope of Directive 2014/40/EU, the scope of this Decision […] is limited to disposable electronic cigarettes of this type,” the note clarifies.

France, Germany, and Ireland are working on similar legislation.

“This decision is good news for the health of Belgians, for Belgium and for environmental protection,” French MP Francesca Pasquini (Ecologiste, The Greens/ALE), the rapporteur for a similar bill in France, told Euractiv.

In France, the governement will convene a joint committee (CMP) at the Senate on Thursday (21 March) to consider the bill to ban puffs. If the text is approved, France, like Belgium, will seek an approval from the Commission, which will have six months to make its decision.

The French Alliance Contre le Tabac (ACT) said in a press release that “ACT welcomes the European Commission’s decision to authorise Belgium to ban Puffs on its territory. This decision augurs well for France”.

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