The brand Kruidvat announced on Thursday that it will be putting an end to tobacco sales in its shops in Belgium and the Netherlands. It will do so in the next two years. This is to “discourage smoking amongst young age groups.”
Kruidvat says that it is “the first major retail distributor in Europe to take this vital decision.” In practical terms, the ceasing of sales will happen gradually: Kruidvat is aiming to make two-thirds of its shops “tobacco-free” in less than a year, with the remainder following suit in 2019. Moreover, from their opening or reopening, new or renovated Kruidvat shops will no longer sell tobacco products.
By the end of 2019, we will not find tobacco products in more than 250 Belgian Kruidvat shops, and in some 930 of the brand’s shops in the Netherlands. Kruidvat’s iniatiative is welcomed by the Foundation Against Cancer, which stresses “a courageous decision” on the part of the retail distributor.
The Brussels Times
