Other measures include a ban on smoking in the vicinity of children’s playgrounds, in private vehicles in which a child aged under 12 is also travelling and a ban on the use of e-cigarettes in closed public spaces (with the exception of smoking rooms).

The changes form part of the law of 13 June 2017, which enshrines into law the EU Directive 2014/40 and goes beyond its provisions.

“Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death. At least one in two smokers will die prematurely from a tobacco-related disease, mainly cardiovascular disease, cancer and tumors, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),” Luxembourg’s health ministry said in a press release.

The measures aim to both prevent exposure of young people and nonsmokers to the dangerous effects of second-hand smoke but also to prevent smoking from being normalised for young people.

A TNS ILRES survey conducted for Luxembourg’s Cancer Foundation found that the average starting age of a smoker in Luxembourg is around 13 and 14 while seven in ten smokers take up the habit before turning 18. One in four smokers is aged 18 to 24 in Luxembourg, up 3% from 2015 to 2016.