Call for ban on chocolate cigarettes

Two MPs, Catherine Fonck and Mie-Jeanne Nyanga-Lu, have introduced a bill which prohibits "the sale of sweets and toys for children, with the intention of giving the product or its packaging the appearance of a product containing tobacco," reports La Dernière Heure. Chocolate and chewing gum cigarettes would clearly be affected by the new legislation if it is passed. "Studies conducted in many countries show that chocolate cigarettes can induce a mimetic behaviour in children and therefore double the likelihood of the child becoming a smoker in adolescence and adulthood , regardless of whether or not their parents are smokers," the two MPs explain. The sale of confectionery cigarettes is already banned in Ireland, Norway and Finland. Furthermore, Fonck and Nyanga-Lu advocate the prohibition of advertising of tobacco products in all shops in Belgium, without exception. The law currently prohibits all advertising for - and sponsorship by - tobacco products, but does allow for several exceptions, such as displaying a tobacco brand on a tobacconist’s or newsagents’ awning. According to the two MPs, shopkeepers "frequently stretch the boundaries of the law".