[Dutch tobacco control policy: milestones in the past and a look into the future]

- As early as 1975, the Health Council of the Netherlands was aware of what an effective tobacco control policy should constitute.- Centre-right governments in the 1980's and 1990's impeded the implementation of such a policy. In 1988, the Tobacco Act was introduced, but this had no effect on smoking rates.- In 2002, the Tobacco Act was amended, introducing more far-reaching measures, which resulted in a reduction in the number of smokers.- To accelerate the downward trend in smoking rates, more investments need to be made in mass media campaigns, and tobacco tax rates will need to be increased each year.- One of the concrete measures recommended in 1975 by the Health Council of the Netherlands, which has still not materialised, is reducing the number of tobacco vendors. New regulations for this policy are expected to be developed in the coming years.