The new law wants to block the purchase of cigarettes and tobacco products in Impulse. Small supermarkets are now prohibited from selling these products.
A new law applied in Belgium on Tuesday avoids the cigarettes or any product that contains tobacco is exposed in stores.
Supermarkets and others Stores with more than 400 square meters Now they are also forbidden to sell cigarettes.
The measures are intended to limit the visibility of cigarettes and other products that cause dependency, with the objective of impulse purchasesand are part of a plan to completely eliminate tobacco consumption.
Under the supervision of the Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbrouke, the political program began on January 1, with The prohibition of disposable electronic cigarettes.
“Our ambition is having a smokeless generation by 2040,” explains Vandenbrouke, who denies a total prohibition of cigarettes.
“From now on, it is illegal to have cigarettes or vaporizers on display, that is, visible, in a store. This is not a prohibition of buying these products. You can buy it from yourself, but you must ask the seller,” he said.
Stores are preparing to adapt
From now on, no specific guidance or material has been provided on how to deal with tobacco products to store owners. Each store had to find its own solution, from handmade plastic curtains to sophisticated shelves that automatically light up when they open.
“It’s annoying because they (the government) have provided us with anything,” says Jenny Van Vaerenbergh, owner of a newspaper and tobacco store. “They should have provided the necessary equipment.”
Malak Chatauy, a student in Brussels and Scorator, said that only hiding a product will not change people’s habits.
“We are talking about addictions and people will not suddenly stop just because the product is no longer exposed in stores.”
But there are those who see the measure as an instrument to prevent Belgian young people from starting smoking.
“I think this is a good measure because I don’t want my son to begin smoking, because quitting smoking is very difficult,” said Emilie Fayt, another smoking.
The next phase of the plan, which includes the prohibition of smoking on public terraces, will also have to be approved by Belgian legislators.
