The Dutch health minister, Ab Klink, has announced tough measures to enforce the smoking ban in the hospitality sector after a rebellion among small cafes in city centres threatened to spread across the country.

Almost all the cafes in the centre of Den Bosch, in the south of the country, were defying the ban this week and were photographed returning ashtrays to tables. Similar action is reported in Nijmegen, Tilburg, and Utrecht, with as many as 12 000 cafes involved.

In response Mr Klink wrote to MPs saying, “Let there be no misunderstanding. The cabinet takes …