The Dutch tobacco policy has three objectives: decreasing the percentage of smokers, preventing youth from taking up smoking and protecting non-smokers from tobacco smoke. To achieve these goals a comprehensive package of instruments is implemented:

• legislation (Tobacco Act)
• health education (campaigns, websites, school programmes etc.)
• provision of care and facilities for those who want to quit smoking
• selfregulation
• price policy
• product regulation
• enforcement
• international initiatives (WHO, EU)

The Tobacco Act, amended in 2002 to allow more radical measures, contains the following main items:

• restriction on direct and indirect tobacco product advertising as well as sponsoring (save tobacco shops)
• restriction on selling tobacco products to people under the age of 16
• restriction on selling small packages of tobacco products (less than 19 pieces)
• the right to a smoke-free workplace
• smoke-free public transport