Switzerland, a bad European student in the fight against tobacco

The European Cancer Leagues Association has published a report on the state of public anti-smoking policies implemented in 35 European countries as well as in Israel.[1]The document proposes a classification of the latter according to their state of progress in the implementation of essential public policies at the national level:

• Price increases on tobacco products through increased taxes;
• Ban on smoking in public areas and at work;
• Better information through campaigns to disseminate the results of scientific research on the dangers of tobacco;
• A complete ban on all forms of tobacco marketing: advertising and sponsorship, promotion, including at points of sale of tobacco products;
• The existence of visible health messages affixed to cigarette packets and other tobacco products with the adoption of neutral packaging;
• The establishment of assistance for smokers to quit, in particular through easier access to monitoring and medical treatment.

This latest assessment, published in February 2020 and covering 2018 data, also included measures to combat illicit trade in tobacco products and the protection of public policies from interference by the tobacco industry. Unsurprisingly, Switzerland comes in second to last place in the European ranking, behind Luxembourg and ahead of Germany. As the report highlights, far from committing to the fight against smoking, Switzerland is today The El Dorado of the Tobacco Industry, and the last European country not to have ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Since 2017, the Swiss Federal Council no longer has the authority to increase taxes on tobacco products, which have not changed since 2013. The three largest tobacco companies have set up their headquarters in Switzerland, partly attracted by the country's federal structure, where small political entities - the cantons - have broad decision-making powers, thereby facilitating interference by cigarette companies. However, this political choice is not without consequences for the country's public health: each year, 8,600 people die from smoking in Switzerland[2]. Furthermore, Switzerland is a real laboratory for tobacco manufacturers who decide and experiment with their strategies there with impunity before trying to deploy them in other countries. ©Tobacco Free Generation

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[1] https://www.tobaccocontrolscale.org/TCS2019.pdf [2] The Tobacco Atlas, Country sheet: Switzerland. https://tobaccoatlas.org/country/switzerland/ | ©National Committee Against Smoking |