BACKGROUND AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES: All around the world far right and right-wing politicians are winning elections or leading in the polls. In most countries right-wing parties are defending peoples’ ‘free choice’ to smoke or vape and embrace the ‘harm reduction’ principle. This trend directly challenges prevention policies, hampering the efforts of public health advocates. In 2024, the Netherlands saw its most right-wing government since WWII.
INTERVENTION OR RESPONSE: The Health Funds for a Smokefree Netherlands (GvRV) have, over the past decade, been able to mobilize civil society in support of tobacco control measures through campaigns and stakeholder activation, and have found allies in sports associations, public transport, amusement parks and many more organizations at the national and local levels. This contributes to a smokefree norm all across society. GvRV and its allies have also been successful in redirecting anger and blame regarding the youth vaping epidemic towards the tobacco industry. This was preceded by a long effort of ‘denormalizing’ the tobacco industry.
RESULTS AND IMPACT: Whilst there have been minor setbacks for tobacco control, the government still strives towards the 2040 Smokefree Generation target, in which adult smoking prevalence is no more than 5%. Public support for the Smokefree Generation and measures necessary to achieve it also remain stable and high. Proposed policy measures to reduce the number of points of sale, increase the number of smokefree environments and tackle the vaping epidemic amongst Dutch youth, and a parallel grassroots movement to create more smokefree environments continue to gain traction.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite growing support for right-wing and far-right parties, the focus on youth, the mobilization of civil society, the denormalization effort and the anger created by the vaping problem have all contributed to high support for the Smokefree Generation and have guaranteed majority support in parliament for almost all smokefree measures.