The easy accessibility of vapes and cigarettes to young people has become a significant public concern, posing a serious threat to their health and well-being. The Dutch government has banned vapes with flavours since 1 January 2025. But despite the regulations, youngsters still manage to easily access them. It will remain an important question for health officials and parents: How do youngsters get hold of these addictive substances and how do we keep them at bay? Several factors help youngsters and minors to obtain vapes and cigarettes.
- Failure to verify age: underage sales by many retailers is one of the major causes that undermine the enforcement of the new law. Many stores, especially evening and night shops, often don’t verify the age of buyers in order to increase sales.
- Easy online ordering: Many surveys showed that vapes get delivered within a couple of days when ordered online through e-commerce websites, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites. Disappointingly, they are sold without age verification.
- Social acquaintances: Young people get access to vapes from schoolmates, friends, older siblings and other acquaintances. As NOS reports, peer groups within schools facilitate the sharing and sale of these items, bought at purchase prices from various stores in the Netherlands. These groups are now also acquiring vapes from Germany and Belgium after the enforcement of the ban. They have created a hidden network to carry out such illegal activities.
- Lack of awareness: Some tobacco vendors are unaware of the ban and continue to sell these products unintentionally.
Ways to mitigate the effects
The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) is the organization responsible for enforcing regulations and monitoring the activities of manufacturers, importers, and distributors to ensure compliance with safety standards. It is authorized to impose a fine of up to 4500 euros if businesses continue to sell these banned products. The authority has already started taking various measures to check on shops, but it cannot manage to stop the vaping crisis by itself.
To keep youngsters away from vapes and cigarettes, a multi-faceted and comprehensive approach is required. Here are some effective strategies.
- Initiatives by educational institutes
Educational institutes must take responsibility for launching anti-vaping campaigns that could help students understand the harmful effects of smoking. They should implement zero-tolerance policies for smoking or vaping on the premises, with strict penalties for both students and staff who defy the rules.
- Promote healthy habits
Parents play a critical role in helping to reduce smoking among children by being role models for them. Quitting smoking themselves could be the most impactful step they can take to set an example for their children. They should encourage a healthy lifestyle involving healthy eating, physical activities and stress management techniques.
- Stronger regulations matter
The goal should be to make vapes less accessible, appealing and acceptable to youngsters by enforcing strict minimum age laws, digital age verification, banning advertising targeting youth, restricting sponsorships, and increasing taxes on tobacco products.
- Enhanced oversight of tobacco retailers
There is an urgent need to impose tighter regulations on tobacco retailers such as restricted hours of sale, proper licensing and registration, and ensuring that they are well-educated on the legal restrictions surrounding the sale of such products. They should also be well aware of the penalties for violations.
- Focusing on positive aspects of social media and online influence
Social media can be both a blessing and a curse, depending on how it is utilized. Leveraging social media platforms to raise awareness and actively discourage vaping could be effective. It is also crucial to monitor the content that promotes such an unhealthy lifestyle. Government and health agencies can collaborate with influencers who advocate for healthy lifestyles to counter the glamorization of vaping on social media.
- Accessible quitting programs
Provide quitting programs in schools, online and in communities to support those who are addicted to vaping and are trying to quit.
Written by Parul Sachdeva