Belgium to render all tobacco and smoke packaging neutral

From 1 June 2026, the last colourful tobacco packages will disappear from Belgian store shelves. The Belgian federal government is extending standardised packaging rules to all tobacco and smoking products.

No “better” smoking products

Until now, the rules apply only to cigarettes, rolling tobacco and water pipe tobacco. From now on, cigarillos, cigars, pipe tobacco, smoking devices such as pipes and bongs, as well as rolling papers, filters and cartridges will be added. All packaging will need to have a sober background colour, logos and brand symbols will disappear, and the brand name will be limited to three words in Helvetica font size 12.

For retail, there will be a transition period: from 1 January 2027, only neutral packaging may be sold. Those who do not comply risk seeing their products disappear from the shelves as well as a fine of up to 120,000 euros. In doing so, Belgium follows countries such as Australia and France, where neutral packaging has long been the norm.

The Belgian government emphasises that the uniform packaging increases the impact of health warnings. The expansion should also eliminate a persistent misunderstanding, namely that certain tobacco or herbal smoking products would be less harmful than others. “This will make it clearer to consumers that all tobacco and herbal smoking products carry health risks.”