Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Belgium will ban smoking and vaping on patios from 2027 to protect public health. Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke cited 17.6% smokers and 6.3% e-cigarette users.
As GVA News reported, the federal government of Belgium announced on Friday, Sep 12, 2025, that smoking and vaping on patios will be banned starting in 2027. The move is part of Belgium’s long-term plan to create a smoke-free generation by 2040.
In the most recent health study by Sciensano, 17.6% of Belgians smoke, with 12.8% daily smokers. While smoking is slowly being reduced in Belgium, e-cigarette use is increasing. The policy targets outdoor terraces at cafés and restaurants. After consultations with the hospitality sector, the government did not fix a precise distance for the ban.
“Experience abroad shows that half-hearted measures don’t work at all”
said Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Voorit) in an interview with De Standard.
“Measures that, for example, allow smoking on a part of a terrace have little effect, because seeing smoking encourages smoking. So you simply have to keep it out of sight of people.”
What will Belgium’s 2027 smoking and vaping ban change?
The new regulations also impact indoor areas where smoking is now permitted in Belgium. Regulations will ban designated smoking rooms in restaurants, cafés, and airports. Facilities where smoking is the predominant activity, including cigar clubs and shisha bar, are also impacted.
Shisha bars in Belgium will need to either close or transform into regular hospitality businesses. Officials in Belgium say the measures are designed to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and to encourage healthier habits among Belgians.
|Officials mentioned that those who run restaurants and cafes are not expected to act as police, but they need to take all reasonable steps to ensure customers follow the rules. This can be done by making the ban signs clear, having signs that say ‘no smoking or vaping’ visible, getting rid of ‘stuff’ that encourages smoking, like ashtrays, and confronting whoever tries to smoke or vape on patios.
“That’s why we opted for the most pragmatic solution possible,”
says Vandenbroucke.
Smokers in Belgium who violate the ban can face fines ranging from €208 to €8,000, the same penalties already in place under current smoking laws. Across Europe, Sweden is the only country with a full ban on smoking on outdoor patios, while Spain plans to introduce a similar restriction. Belgium’s measures place the country among a small group of European nations taking strong steps to protect public spaces from tobacco smoke and vaping.
Belgium has been gradually tightening its tobacco and vaping regulations over the past 2 decades. In 2006, smoking was first restricted indoors in public places such as restaurants and cafés. The rules were expanded in 2011 to include bars and smaller venues.
Penalties for breaking smoking regulations were introduced in 2012, with fines ranging from €208 to €8,000. In recent years, the popularity of e-cigarettes has led to new measures, with Sciensano surveys from 2023 to 2024 showing that 21.7 % of Belgians had tried vaping, and 6.3% were current users.
