As part of the joint campaign, the organisations are spreading shared messages across their various channels and releasing street surveys from Lausanne and Bern on the question of how expensive tobacco and nicotine products should be.
20 francs for a pack of cigarettes? Quite acceptable for many.
The statements from the street surveys reveal: A portion of respondents, including e-cigarette consumers, find current prices significantly too low. Several individuals believe a pack of cigarettes should cost between 20 and 30 francs to make it harder for youth to access these products. Others also highlight the particular attraction of sweet-flavoured products with a 'candy taste' to minors.
A young couple succinctly summarises this view: 'The same tax rate should apply to all products. Whether classic cigarettes or e-cigarettes - it's still an addiction.'
Young people, in particular, are highly sensitive to price. Cheap products lower the entry barriers and facilitate the initiation into nicotine use. Compared internationally, many tobacco and nicotine products in Switzerland still remain relatively inexpensive.
Unmasking the appeal - with a consistent pricing policy.
The international slogan for World No Tobacco Day 2026 - 'Unmasking the Appeal' - reminds us that the attractiveness of nicotine products is no coincidence. For the undersigning organisations, a consistent and more ambitious pricing policy is a crucial lever to better protect young people and reduce the health consequences of tobacco and nicotine consumption.
Tobacco use causes around 9,200 deaths each year in Switzerland and incurs billions in costs for the healthcare system. Nevertheless, the varied taxation of traditional cigarettes, heated tobacco products, e-cigarettes, and oral nicotine products continues to contribute to keeping these products attractive.
In brief.
Prevention organisations are calling for a more ambitious pricing policy for tobacco and nicotine products.
Street surveys in Lausanne and Bern show that even some consumers find current prices too low. The organisations remind us that high prices are among the most effective means to protect young people.
Voices from the street.
The
campaign is accompanied by various content on social media, including:
- Awareness visuals
- Street surveys from Lausanne and Bern
- Spontaneous audio reactions regarding the price of tobacco and nicotine products.
The collected statements show that even some consumers find today’s prices too low to effectively protect young people.
Excerpts from the campaign, including visuals and street surveys, are available to the media in the appendix.
Signing organisations
Lungenliga Waadt · Lungenliga Schweiz · Lega polmonare ticinese · Lungenliga Solothurn · Stop2Drop · OxySuisse · Arbeitsgemeinschaft Tabakprävention Schweiz
Press contact:
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Tabakprävention Schweiz (AT Schweiz)
Wolfgang Kweitel, Public Affairs
Tel. +41 31 599 10 20
wolfgang.kweitel@at-schweiz.ch