A quarter of Belgian shops violate tobacco display ban

Inspections by the Public Health Service have revealed that one in four shops inspected in Belgium do not adequately cover tobacco products. Newsagents and petrol stations are the best at complying with the rules.

623 shops inspected

The new tobacco law has been in force in Belgium since 1 April 2025: food stores larger than 400 m² are no longer allowed to sell tobacco products, while smaller shops must keep tobacco products out of sight of customers. The Consumer Goods Inspection Service of the FPS Public Health carries out checks on the display ban for tobacco products: of the 623 shops inspected, 161 were not in compliance, the service reports to Gazet Van Antwerpen. That is just over a quarter.

89% of the newsagents inspected were found to be in compliance, and at petrol stations the figure was as high as 95%. However, 39% of vape shops and cigar shops were found to be in violation. Shisha bars (36%), day shops (31%) and supermarkets and night shops (27%) were also often found to be non-compliant. Of 83 supermarkets larger than 400 m² that were inspected, one was still selling tobacco products.

Fines to follow

“In addition, there were also supermarkets that tried to circumvent the ban in creative ways. For example, stores had set up a separate room with a door and a separate cash register so that they could still sell tobacco products. That is, of course, not allowed,” Annelies Wynant, spokesperson for the FPS Public Health, told the newspaper.

Retailers who weren’t compliant haven’t yet received a fine, but that’s changing: “From now on, inspected stores that haven’t made any attempt to comply with the display ban will have their fines issued immediately. Food stores larger than 400 square meters that still sell tobacco products will also be issued fines immediately.” They risk a prison sentence of one month to one year and a fine of 2,000 to 800,000 euros.