The Dutch government has rejected plans for a national ban on disposable vapes, warning that such a move would be legally uncertain and should instead be dealt with at EU level.
The decision means the Netherlands will not push ahead with new national restrictions on single-use products including disposable vapes and cigarette filters, despite environmental concerns over waste, fires and litter.
Ministers said a domestic ban on disposable vapes could conflict with the European Tobacco Products Directive. Instead, the cabinet said an “EU-wide ban seems the most promising option” and that the Netherlands will argue for action in Brussels.
The decision is significant because the Netherlands has already taken a hard line on vaping. Online sales of vapes have been banned since July 2023, while tobacco is now the only vape flavour legally available in the country.
But evidence from Dutch vapers suggests those restrictions have pushed many adults away from the legal market rather than stopping use.
Legal doubts halt national ban
The Dutch cabinet said national legislation targeting environmentally harmful disposable products would be too legally uncertain.
The rejected plan covered single-use plastics including cigarette filters and disposable vapes. Ministers also ruled out a deposit system for squeezable packaging used for drinks, soap and detergent, saying existing collection machines are not suitable for handling them.
A proposed beach smoking ban has also been dropped because of “insufficient local enforcement capacity”.
On cigarette filters, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment reported in April that around nine billion filter cigarettes are sold each year in the Netherlands. Many end up as litter.
The filters contain cellulose acetate, a plastic that breaks down extremely slowly and can remain in the environment for years.
Disposable vapes create a different problem. The government noted they must be thrown away with residual waste, but can cause fires in bin lorries and waste facilities. They also frequently end up in the environment.
Even so, Dutch officials concluded that a national ban would run into EU legal problems.
Belgium has introduced a disposable vape ban using an exemption rule, but Dutch officials said they do not believe the Netherlands can follow the same route.
A ban-heavy approach already under pressure
The disposable vape decision lands against a difficult backdrop for Dutch vape policy.
Since January 2024, only tobacco-flavoured vapes have been legally available in the Netherlands. Yet a poll by Dutch vaping consumer association ACVODA found the flavour ban has had little impact on vaping behaviour among adult users.
Instead, most respondents said they had switched to buying from abroad or online.
According to the survey, 80 per cent of adult Dutch vapers now buy vapes from other countries or online. Half said they travel to neighbouring countries to buy them, while 30 per cent said they order online or through social media sellers based abroad.
Tobacco is the only vape flavour legally available, but only two per cent of vapers polled said they use it.
ACVODA said: “This cannot be the intention of the current Dutch policy, which now only affects adult users. The ban on flavours is missing the mark. A number of permitted flavours and better enforcement would be a step in the right direction.”
The survey also found that almost half of respondents had started vaping to quit smoking. Since the new rules came in, just under 10 per cent said they had gone back to cigarettes.
That is the central harm reduction concern. Policies designed to reduce youth appeal or environmental waste may have unintended consequences if adult smokers and ex-smokers are pushed towards cigarettes, cross-border sales or unregulated supply routes.
Smokers left with fewer legal options
ACVODA said Dutch policy has made it harder for adults to access the products they used to move away from smoking.
The group said: “It has now become impossible to buy the desired legal product in the Netherlands and use it as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes. There are hardly any specialist shops left where good information can be found. The average vaper, of whom more than 98 per cent previously smoked cigarettes, felt little need to reach for tobacco with the flavours.”
It added: “The government is now making it impossible to buy a legal and safe product of preference in the Netherlands. The vast majority of respondents state that the restriction and ban on alternatives reduces the step to cigarettes instead of increasing it – after all, there is no longer an option to satisfy the pleasure of nicotine in a less harmful way.”
