DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl brings daily news from The Netherlands in English

5 June 2025
Newsletter Donate Advertise
  • News
  • Life in the Netherlands
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
  • Search
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Art and culture
  • Sport
  • Europe
  • Society
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Housing
  • Education
  • News
    • Home
    • Economy
    • Art and culture
    • Sport
    • Europe
    • Society
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Education
  • Life in the Netherlands
    • Latest
    • Opinion
    • Books
    • Travel
    • 10 Questions
    • Learning Dutch
    • Inburgering with DN
    • Food & Drink
    • Ask us anything
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
    • Team
    • Donate
    • Advertise
    • Writing for Dutch News
    • Contact us
    • Privacy
    • Newsletter
  • Search

Supermarkets open tobacco shops to get round pending ban

January 9, 2024
Photo: DutchNews.nl

Supermarkets are opening specialist tobacco stores next door to their food retail premises to get round the ban on tobacco sales from July 1, the Financieele Dagblad said on Tuesday.

Tobacconist shops can be opened without a licence but will have to be registered from July, when supermarkets will be banned from selling cigarettes and rolling tobacco. Anti-tobacco group TabakNee is now campaigning for the introduction of licences to sell tobacco, a measure which has been backed by a majority of MPs. 

The lobby group said in September that 33 new cigarette shops were opened in four months and half of them were owned by supermarkets. In addition, Dekamarkt is experimenting with setting up Primera stores within stores. Primera is 46% owned by British American Tobacco, TabakNee said. 

Jumbo franchise owner Rolf Hoogkamer has opened a specialist store next to his store in Breda shopping centre De Burcht. He told the FD he had doubts and does not smoke himself. “But there was a lot of demand,” he said. “It is often older people who live in the flats near here and can’t walk far. They can now easily still pick up [their cigarettes] and that is a good thing.”

The total market for tobacco products reached €4.4 billion in 2020 and €2.4 billion of that was down to supermarkets, the FD said. “There is a 7.5% profit margin on each packet,” Hoogkamer said. 

“Some 7% of our turnover comes from tobacco, so you are talking about €700 million a year,” Jumbo chief executive Ton van Veen told the Telegraaf earlier.

The government has introduced several measures to discourage smoking. Taxes have driven the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes to €10, advertising is banned and tobacco has to be sold in neutral packaging without branding. 

By 2032, sales will be restricted to specialist stores only. 

Lidl supermarkets stopped selling tobacco products in 2021 and AH’s own stores at the beginning of this year, although franchise owners are free to take their own decision. 

The outgoing government has agreed to leave the issue of licencing tobacco shops up to the next administration.

Share this article
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Copy URL
Business Society
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation
Latest
Show more
Rogue SGP branch presses ahead with women MPs campaign
No NS trains running nationwide on June 6 due to rail strike
GroenLinks, PvdA speed up merger following government fall
Minister voices concern over US questioning of Dutch researchers
Erasmus cuts ties with 3 Israeli universities over human rights
NewsHomeEconomyArt and cultureSportEuropeSocietyEnvironmentHealthHousingEducation
Life in the NetherlandsLatestOpinionBooksTravel10 QuestionsLearning DutchInburgering with DNFood & DrinkAsk us anything
About usTeamDonateAdvertiseWriting for Dutch NewsContact usPrivacyNewsletter
© 2025 DutchNews | Cookie settings

Help us to keep providing you information about coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days!

We could not provide this service without you. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here.

The DutchNews.nl team

Donate now

Dutchnews Survey

Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey.

Take part now