The tobacco lobby has nevertheless succeeded in influencing the agreements in the National Prevention Agreement. Negotiations on this were expressly designed so that the interests of the tobacco industry and the tobacco sellers would not influence it.
Public health was intended to be leading, but that has not been achieved, conclude journalists from The Investigative Desk platform, in a story published by Follow The Money.
In the confidential first draft agreement, the excise duty would be gradually increased to at least ten euros in 2023. Instead, a package has become one euro more expensive this year and now costs 8 euros. Before the price can be increased further, the effects of this price increase are first evaluated. The date for a final increase in excise duty has therefore become uncertain.
Furthermore, specialist tobacco shops and about 150 convenience stores are exempted from the display ban. That means they don’t have to keep their merchandise under lock and key or under the counter. And where all tobacco products would first be sold in neutral packaging, cigars and e-cigarettes have now been exempted from this for at least two years.
VVD supports the lobby
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which the Netherlands has signed, makes it possible that when taking tobacco measures no ‘ordinary’ weighing of interests takes place, but public health can be leading.
On the basis of the FCTC, State Secretary Blokhuis of Public Health not only excluded directly interested parties from the negotiations, such as the tobacco industry, but also large trade organizations VNO-NCW, MKB-Nederland and the Central Bureau for Food Trade (CBL).
Nevertheless, VNO-NCW, MKB-Nederland and the CBL were able to complain to various ministries through all kinds of contacts. The researchers call the VVD “the protagonist” and write that the party represented the interests of the sector during the coalition meeting. One day before the presentation of the National Prevention Agreement, the VVD persuaded the other coalition parties to water down, delay or completely scrap a number of measures.
Frustration and doubt
The changes led to great frustration among social organizations, such as the Alliantie Nederland Rookvrij, which took part in the negotiations. He even had doubts about signing the agreement. In the end, it did, but the target of less than 5 percent adult smokers and zero smokers by 2040 now seems unfeasible.
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