Belgium is set to become the latest country to ban disposables after its proposed law was approved by the European Commission this week.
The ban will take effect on 1st January 2026 and will only cover nicotine-containing disposables, after an earlier proposal that would also have banned non-nicotine disposables was blocked by the Commission.
Belgium is now set to be the first EU Member State to ban disposables, although as we reported last week, both France and Poland are working on similar measures that could come into force earlier.
The Commission’s support for the measure will be seen as encouragement by countries proposing such a ban, and others that may be considering it.
Given the raft of delays the EU is facing in updating its tobacco control legislation - which will almost certainly make safer nicotine products harder to access for smokers - the Commission is looking for measures it can take for what it would consider “quick wins”.
And if two more countries follow Belgium in banning disposables then - as we reported on Clearing the Air - the Commission can use an obscure and opaque process to insist on a ban across the whole continent.
The Belgian Health Ministry was pleased with the outcome, but researchers from Kings College London have pointed out that banning disposables could have sever unintended consequences for adults trying to quit smoking.
According to the study, a ban is 64% more likely to have negative effects for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and twice as likely to penalise those with mental health conditions.
