The e-cigarette: banned in the hospitality industry from now on
Smoking regular cigarettes indoors, in a restaurant, café or hotel, has fortunately been a thing of the past for some time now. Smoking an electronic cigarette, on the other hand, was still allowed there. Until now. From 1 July, e-cigarettes will also be banned in the hospitality industry.
In recent years, the Dutch hospitality industry has become increasingly smoke-free. An evening at the pub followed by rushing home to wash your hair to get rid of that unbearable smell seems light-years ago by now, because lighting up a cigarette indoors has been prohibited since 2008. It was still allowed in designated smoking rooms, though—and there were some wonderful examples of those! Such as the one at hotel TwentySeven, for example. But bad luck for the smokers among us; those designated smoking rooms have also been closed since September last year. Smoking is now only possible on terraces (and for how much longer?)
Extension of smoking ban
Previously, the smoking ban applied only to smoking tobacco products. But e-cigarettes (with or without nicotine) are now being added to it. This new rule followed the conclusion of the Trimbos Institute for mental health, which concluded that smoking electronic cigarettes is much more harmful than previously thought. You did not encounter many electronic cigarettes in the hospitality industry anyway; many business owners had already prohibited them through their own house rules.
Smoke-free Netherlands
A ban on other tobacco products, such as chewing and snuff tobacco, has also been in effect for two days. Although people do not smoke these products, they do consume tobacco in another way. From 1 July, the NVWA will monitor enforcement of the smoking ban, and by 2040 the government hopes to have a smoke-free Netherlands.
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