First Belgian cafe threatened with closure over smoking

A cafe in Vilvoorde is facing closure if people are found smoking on the premises one more time, in what is reported to be the first case of its kind in Belgium.

According to a report in Le Soir, the owner of the unnamed cafe has been fined €1,800 for breaking the anti-smoking law, but has also been given a suspended sentence of two months' forced closure.

"That means that if we inspect it again and find that clients are being allowed to smoke, the establishment will be closed automatically," the head of the inspection division told the paper.

He added that the cafe manager had been found guilty of breaking the law on five previous occasions without changing his behaviour. For instance, ash trays were still being left on the tables for smoking clients.

One in six cafes in Belgium are ignoring the 2011 smoking ban, according to recent figures from the federal health ministry based on 3,000 spot checks.

The threat of closure raises the stakes for cafes happy to flout the law. "It counters those owners who think that paying one or two fines a year can be absorbed in their expenses," the inspector said.

The cafe owner is free to appeal the decision. 

Photo: Ingimage