PhD defence Sophie Johanna Adriana Jooren

Keywords: Smoking, Municipalities, Tobacco control, Local policies

"Local Adoption of Tobacco Control Policy in the Netherlands: Common Goal, Scattered Effort"

Each year, approximately 20,000 people in the Netherlands die as a result of smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke. Through the National Prevention Agreement, the Dutch government, together with various societal organizations, aims to achieve a smoke-free generation by 2040. This dissertation examines how Municipal Public Health Departments (GGD’en) and municipalities can contribute to this goal. They can play several roles in this effort. First, they can work towards making outdoor public spaces smoke-free, such as sports facilities and public parks. In doing so, it is important to focus on compliance, repeated communication, and actively addressing individuals about smoke-free policies. In addition, GGD’en and municipalities can support smoking cessation by improving the visibility and accessibility of cessation support for residents. Finally, they can contribute by developing and implementing both local and national campaigns to raise awareness. At the same time, key conditions and incentives at the local level are often lacking, making it difficult to prioritize tobacco control. If municipalities are to make a meaningful contribution to national tobacco control and prevention goals, structural funding, clear mandates, and well-defined targets are essential.

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