Belgium plans smoke-free café terraces from January 2027

Under the government proposal, both conventional smoking and vaping will be excluded from public terraces. The minister’s announcement also refers to the immediate vicinity of those terraces, although the final statutory wording and any detailed distance rule should be checked once the adopted legislation and implementing guidance are published. Customers should therefore not assume that moving to the edge of a terrace will necessarily be sufficient.

The planned rule is federal, so it will apply in Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders rather than varying from one commune or gemeente to another. Local authorities will continue to regulate matters such as terrace permits, opening hours and use of the pavement, but they will not set the core public-health prohibition. Businesses and residents should consult the bilingual or multilingual information issued by the FPS Public Health—SPF Santé publique in French and FOD Volksgezondheid in Dutch—rather than relying solely on a municipal terrace notice.

Visitors should also distinguish the future terrace measure from restrictions already in force. FPS Public Health guidance states that smoking and vaping are prohibited in enclosed publicly accessible places, including the indoor parts of hospitality businesses. Since 31 December 2024, smoking has additionally been prohibited in playgrounds, zoos, amusement parks and sports grounds, as well as within ten metres of entrances and exits at specified schools, childcare settings, hospitals, care institutions and public libraries. The rules contain limited exceptions and transitional arrangements, so the federal guidance remains the safest reference for an unusual location.

Vandenbroucke presents the terrace prohibition as the next stage of Belgium’s effort to achieve a tobacco-free generation by 2040. His office says the measure is designed both to reduce involuntary exposure and to make smoking less visible to children, former smokers and people trying to quit. The minister’s September 2025 statement estimated that smoking contributes to about 8% of deaths in Belgium and said almost two people die every hour from its effects.

The policy follows a long shift in where Belgian social life permits smoking. The 2009 smoke-free law established the framework for enclosed public places, and the hospitality ban was broadened in 2011. More recent federal measures have moved beyond interiors: Belgium prohibited sales of disposable e-cigarettes from 1 January 2025, ended tobacco sales in food shops larger than 400 square metres from April 2025 and introduced smoke-free zones around several public institutions.

The broader change is cultural as well as regulatory. Terraces became the default smoking space after indoor prohibitions, particularly on busy café streets in central Brussels, Liège, Namur, Mons and other urban centres. Removing smoking from those tables redistributes access to a shared space: non-smokers gain protection from drifting smoke, while smokers must leave the service area and find a lawful place that does not obstruct neighbouring premises or an existing smoke-free perimeter.

Public-health advocates and the federal minister argue that customers and hospitality workers should not have to inhale tobacco smoke while eating, drinking or serving outdoors. Including e-cigarettes also produces a single, readily understandable rule and supports the government’s aim of reducing the visibility of nicotine use among young people.

The Fédération HoReCa Wallonie has taken a more critical position. In its response to the 2025 announcement, the trade body said hospitality businesses were already facing severe financial pressure and objected to making operators responsible for policing customer behaviour around terraces. Its concern is especially practical in dense centres where one café terrace borders another and the public pavement begins only a few steps from occupied tables.

The minister’s office says an individual smoker will remain responsible because everyone is presumed to know the law, while an operator could face consequences for failing to enforce the prohibition on premises under its control. The exact division of responsibility, inspection practice, signage requirements and applicable penalties should be confirmed in the final law and updated FPS guidance.

For customers, the safest approach from 1 January 2027 will be to treat the whole serviced terrace as smoke-free, including for e-cigarettes, and follow posted signs or staff directions before moving elsewhere. For operators, preparation should include reviewing the final text, removing terrace ashtrays, briefing staff in the languages used by the business and displaying clear signs—interdiction de fumer et de vapoter in French, rook- en vapeverbod in Dutch, with English added where useful.

The next formal milestones are parliamentary approval, publication in the Belgian Official Gazette and updated instructions from FPS Public Health. Until those steps clarify the final perimeter and enforcement arrangements, the confirmed position is that open terraces remain subject to the current rules and the federal government is working toward a nationwide ban on 1 January 2027.