Belgium has seized more than 140,000 disposable vapes since the start of 2025, following the introduction of a nationwide ban on their sale that took effect on January 1.
Belgium’s Federal Public Health Service said it has seized 140,019 disposable vapes so far this year, as inspectors intensify checks across retail outlets and online sellers. The ban applies to the sale of single-use vapes, regardless of nicotine content.
Enforcement ramps up after January ban
According to Belga News Agency, inspectors have taken a “significant amount” of illegal products off the market since the ban came into force.
Since January, nearly 600 official reports have been filed and 18 shops have been temporarily closed. Authorities have carried out almost 2,400 inspections at day and night shops, newsagents, petrol stations, supermarkets and online stores, with illegal disposable vapes found in 680 cases.
Under Belgian law, fines for selling disposable vapes can reach €120,000, although inspectors said penalties in practice usually range between €800 and €1,000. Temporary shop closures are also being used as a sanction.
Regional differences in compliance
Enforcement data shows significant regional variation. Brussels recorded the highest rate of violations, with illegal disposable vapes found in nearly 60 per cent of inspections.
In Flanders around one in five shops checked was found to be selling disposable vapes illegally, leading to several closures across the region. Authorities have not yet published comparable figures for Wallonia.
The figures highlight the scale of the enforcement challenge following the ban, particularly in urban areas and locations with high retail density.
Part of a broader crackdown on vaping
The disposable vape ban is one element of a wider shift in Belgium’s vaping policy. The country has also confirmed that smoking and vaping will be banned on restaurant and café terraces and in designated smoking rooms from 1 January 2027, after the measure was delayed by a year to give businesses more time to adapt.
The federal government is also preparing legislation to ban all vape flavours except tobacco, following updated advice from the Superior Health Council.
Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke has argued that stricter controls are needed to address youth vaping. Speaking at the POLITICO Health Care Summit, he accused the vape sector of deliberately targeting minors, calling it a “criminal industry,” and said flavourings are designed to “attract children and hide the harm” of vaping products.
Belgian officials frequently point to the Netherlands, which introduced a tobacco-only flavour policy in 2024, as a model for reducing youth uptake, although detailed outcome data has not been published.
Concerns over unintended consequences
The enforcement surge comes amid growing scrutiny over how vaping bans operate in practice. Earlier this year, a VRT Pano investigation found that Belgium’s disposable vape ban had pushed parts of the market underground, with unregulated devices more likely to contain THC liquids or synthetic cannabinoids.
Despite the ban, disposable vapes were found to be widely available in secondary schools, raising questions about enforcement capacity and product safety in an illicit market.
Retailers have also warned of knock-on effects. Perstablo, which represents press, tobacco and gaming shops, described the proposed flavour ban as an “absurd measure with disastrous consequences,” arguing it risks driving consumers away from regulated products and towards illegal sellers.
