Smoke-free 2040 goal failing as young adults keep vaping

A survey has suggested that four in ten young adults in the Netherlands smoke or vape, pointing to how far the country remains from its goal of a smoke-free generation by 2040.

Under the National Prevention Agreement, the government wants nobody in the younger generation to be smoking or vaping by then, and fewer than 5% of adults to do so.

The 40% figure comes from a poll of 2,000 people by comparison website Independer, which found the habit most common among 18-to-29-year-olds. The share drops to around 30% among people in their thirties, 17% among the over-45s and 10% among the over-60s.

Independer is a commercial comparison site rather than a statistical agency, and its figure is well above official data. National statistics agency CBS put the proportion of 18-to-25-year-olds who smoke or vape at roughly a quarter in 2024.

Doctors want a ban
Paediatric lung specialist Noor Rikkers, of the Artsen slaan alarm (doctors sound the alarm) campaign group, called the numbers shocking and said the rise of vaping was drawing in ever-younger children.

She wants the government to ban all products that contain nicotine, arguing that a blanket ban would be simpler to enforce than the current patchwork of rules.

Social media a factor
The survey also pointed to social media. About three-quarters of young adults said they saw videos of people smoking or vaping, and a third of those said the clips tempted them to try it.

More than a quarter of the young smokers who watched such videos said they bought cigarettes or vapes through social media, even though online and social-media sales of tobacco and vapes have been banned since 2023 – a rule dealers have been flouting on Snapchat.

Flavoured vapes have been banned since January 2024, but doctors and inspectors say a black market keeps supplying illegal products.