The Dutch Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation is pressing charges against Philip Morris for deception and prohibited advertising of its heated tobacco product. Fines and settlements did not help: now it is up to criminal law. Through its public campaign ‘Stop Philip M.’ the foundation is seeking support for the legal complaint.

In a letter to European Commissioner Várhelyi, Youth Smoking Prevention suggests that the European Commission asks the WHO for advice on the application of FCTC Article 5.3. The question must be whether this anti-lobby article also applies to the European Parliament.

The measurement method used to measure the tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide emissions of filter cigarettes does not need to be adjusted for the time being. That is the final verdict in the enforcement case that Youth Smoking Prevention started in 2018. It is now up to the European Commission to bring about change in the current practice.

In the enforcement case involving the rigged cigarette, the European Court of Justice ruled on 21 April 2026 that Youth Smoking Prevention is not in the position to require a change in the measurement method for toxins in tobacco smoke. It is now up to the European Commission to put an end to the cheating once and for all.

In an advice to the European Court, the Advocate General sees no possibility for legal entities such as Youth Smoking Prevention to require an alternative measurement method for tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke. But he does want to discuss whether the existing standard is valid.

After doctors in the Netherlands asked Snapchat in June for measures against vape and tobacco dealers, little has changed, according to research by a youth panel. Teenagers still know how to easily find dealers. That is why an enforcement request has been submitted to the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets.

In an urgent letter, medical doctors in the Netherlands call on Snapchat to protect children from the distribution of vape-related content on the platform. Youth Smoking Prevention threatens legal action if Snapchat does not meet the requirements within two weeks.

The European Commission must take action to curb the rigged cigarette. That was the tenor at the hearing of the European Court of Justice in the enforcement case that the Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation started in 2019. The Advocate General will share his conclusion on 10 July.

On 10 March, the European Court of Justice will hear the questions posed in the context of the appeal in the enforcement case concerning the rigged cigarettes, initiated by Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation.

Since September, the tobacco industry has been lobbying in Brussels. The European Parliament’s transparency registers report contacts with 51 members of parliament since 1 September. Front organisation World Vapers’ Alliance was removed from the registers but continues to lobby.

The legal battle over the rigged cigarette is not over yet. The Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal once again refers the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg.

On Thursday June 8, the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (CBb) will hear the appeal in the case in which Youth Smoking Prevention demands that the government take steps against the rigged cigarette and manipulation of cigarette emissions measurements. The session starts at 10 a.m., lasts until 5 p.m. and can be followed via a live stream.

The Rotterdam court last week has ruled that the ‘rigged’ cigarette is illegal and that the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA in Dutch) must take enforcement action.

In the context of the Inspire2Live congress 2022 presenter Michel Daenen interviewed chest physician and chair of Youth Smoking Prevention Wanda de Kanter about her motivation to strive for a world without smoking. She explains how she became an anti-tobacco activist and what it takes to get the message across.

The Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg enables the Dutch administrative court to put an end to the ‘rigged’ cigarette. That is in essence the ruling that the Court made on Tuesday 22 February 2022 in a case that Youth Smoking Prevention, the Municipality of Amsterdam and 15 healthcare organizations have brought against the government.

In its dealings with the tobacco industry the European Commission should follow the example of the Netherlands, the European lobby watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory and the European Public Health Alliance argue. Dutch transparency in this area was enforced in 2015 by Youth Smoking Prevention.

Tobacco Control, the leading medical scientific journal on tobacco control policies, reports in its May issue on Dutch parliament’s decision to remove tobacco from supermarkets and petrol stations.

The introduction of neutral packaging for tobacco products in the Netherlands, which was scheduled to take place on the first of July 2020, has been delayed for at least three months. That is because the tobacco industry has manipulated three Eastern European countries for its own ends.

This week in Berlin the 8th European Conference on Tobacco or Health took place. Lawyer Bénédicte Ficq gave a speech on the Dutch report against the tobacco industry.

From an unexpected quarter comes criticism of the battle by the Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation (SRPJ) against “rigged cigarettes”. In an email to the SRPJ, Belgian anti-smoking expert Luk Joossens calls it “not worth the trouble”. Lawyer Phon van den Biesen believes that Joossens is overlooking a number of things.

The court in Rotterdam made a groundbreaking ruling in the case of Stichting Rookpreventie Jeugd against the 'rigged' cigarette. Is the ISO method abolished? It is now up to the European Court.

In a new lawsuit filed by the Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation (SRPJ), the City of Amsterdam and 14 other parties against the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (WVS) the tobacco sector made a surprising admission.

The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport have categorically refused to ban the sale of cigarettes with higher emission values than legally allowed. The Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation (SRPJ), together with the City of Amsterdam and another fourteen parties, has therefore sought a ruling from the Administrative Court in Rotterdam.

The court of appeal in The Hague has rejected the complaint submitted in the so-called Article 12 procedure against cigarette manufacturers. The accusers are dissapointed, but at the same time are pleased that the court in its verdict addressed the social problem of the legal acceptance of highly addictive and deadly tobacco. The court says that this problem should be addressed by the law maker.

After an exceptionally long period of deliberation lasting 15 months, this morning the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that it won’t prosecute the tobacco industry in the Netherlands. The accusers will appeal to the court to force the Public Prosecutor to finally start a prosecution.

The Netherlands Cancer Institute files a report against four tobacco manufacturers that are active in the Netherlands. 

Over one year ago, lawyer Bénédicte Ficq filed a criminal complaint against the tobacco industry on behalf of two lung patients and the Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation. This article provides an overview of the lead-up to the case and subsequent developments.

Lawyer Bénédicte Ficq of legal firm Meijering Van Kleef Ficq & Van der Werf today filed charges with the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office, on behalf of the Dutch Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation, lung cancer patient Anne Marie van Veen and COPD patient Lia Breed, against four tobacco manufacturers that are active in the Netherlands: Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Tobacco Benelux.

Lung cancer patient Anne Marie van Veen (42, mother of four children) and attorney Bénedicte Ficq yesterday announced to make a criminal case against the tobacco industry, a world's first.

The court in The Hague ruled against the Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation today in the case against the Dutch State over illegal contacts of the government with the tobacco industry and its lobby. Nevertheless the court case has led to huge progress in the way the Dutch government relates to the tobacco industry. 

Does Article 5.3 of the FCTC convention from the World Health Organization relating to policies to control tobacco consumption take effect immediately? And does the Dutch State act unlawfully by not complying with the provisions of this Article? That is the key issue in the case taken by the Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation against the State, which was heard today in court in The Hague. The court will deliver its verdict on 9 November.

Dutch chest physician Wanda de Kanter (Netherlands Cander Institute, Amsterdam), president of the Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation, was invited to do a poster presentation at the 16th World Conference on Lung Cancer, taking place September 6-9, 2015 in Denver, Colorado.

The online publication 'Steadfast in action for a smoke-free country' gives an overview of all the activities the Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation deploys to rid society of tobacco and make smoking a thing of the past.

The Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation is taking the Kingdom of the Netherlands to court to end the structural and excessive influence exerted by the tobacco lobby on government anti-smoking policies.

The Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation was founded five years ago. This booklet highlights the foundation’s goals and main activities.
Reed Five years of action