Switzerland and tobacco: 20 years of shameful inaction

When signing the FCTC, the Federal Council emphasized in its press release “its political will to implement the WHO project in Switzerland as well” and its intention to submit a message to this effect for consultation “during the 2003-2007 legislative period.”¹ The federal council acknowledged that the various measures in the treaty are “based on scientific knowledge” and “aim to regulate the supply and demand of tobacco products so that the global population can enjoy better health.”

Insufficient smoking prevention measures
Today, exactly 20 years after this signing, Switzerland remains one of the last countries in the world not to have ratified this international treaty. None of the key measures it provides for have been implemented. Although Switzerland adopted a federal law on protection against passive smoking in 2008, Parliament bowed to pressure from the tobacco industry and included exceptions that render it incompatible with the requirements of the WHO treaty. With regard to cigarette taxation, another key measure recommended by the treaty, the Federal Council's power to raise taxes has been exhausted since 2013. Price increases on cigarettes after 2013 were due to the tobacco industry and were implemented to increase its profits without affecting sales. Finally, despite a new Tobacco Products Act (LPTab), which will come into force in autumn 2024, Switzerland is still far from meeting the treaty's requirements on advertising bans, and there is every indication that it will not meet them either in the context of the ongoing revision of the law following the acceptance of the popular initiative ” Children without tobacco.”

The tobacco industry's profits before public health
There is a simple explanation for the Swiss authorities' 20 years of inaction: the interference of multinational tobacco companies operating in our country. According to an international report published in 2023, “the considerable influence of the tobacco industry on health policy in Switzerland [creates] a vicious circle in which corporate interests take precedence over public health.”² In this domain, political decisions give priority to defending the economic interests of the tobacco industry over protecting public health.^3,4

The message on the “Children without Tobacco” initiative sent by the Federal Council to the federal chambers in August 2020 sheds a harsh light on the gap between Swiss tobacco prevention policy and the provisions of the WHO treaty.⁵ In Article 5.3, the FCTC requires Parties to the treaty to ensure that their tobacco control policies are not influenced by the tobacco industry. Article 13 of the treaty also requires the introduction of a comprehensive ban on all forms of tobacco advertising. In its message, the Federal Council explains that it opposes the advertising restrictions proposed by the initiators, citing its desire to maintain “a certain balance between health and economic interests” and reiterating “its willingness to restrict advertising to a degree acceptable to the tobacco industry.” This is diametrically opposed to the FCTC, both in spirit and in letter.

Switzerland: Europe's ashtray?
Noting the failure of prevention efforts in our country, an editorial in the British Medical Journalasked the question: “Is Switzerland the ashtray of Europe?”⁶ Unfortunately, the answer to this question is “yes!” Tobacco companies have succeeded in delaying the implementation of necessary and effective prevention measures in Switzerland. For 20 years, they have had free rein to addict thousands of new customers, mainly minors (estimated at more than 20,000 per year). Many of them will remain addicted for life and, ultimately, one in two will die prematurely as a result of smoking, losing an average of 20 years of their life.

A serious violation of Switzerland's obligations
OxySuisse considers this situation to be a serious violation of Switzerland's human rights obligations. With the help of lawyers, the association is exploring all possible courses of action to defend the fundamental rights of the inhabitants of our country, which have been sacrificed for too long on the altar of profits for multinational tobacco companies.

References :

_{1 https://www.admin.ch/gov/fr/accueil/documentation/communiques.msg-id-3827.html
2 https://globaltobaccoindex.org/fr/download/1724
3 Diethelm P. How the tobacco industry undermines public health policy in Switzerland. Sted. 2019; 28:26–31,
4 https://www.uicc.org/blog/tobacco-control-switzerland-two-decades-behind
5 https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/2020/1895/fr
6 https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/28/5/479}