E-cigarettes in Switzerland

Switzerland: Today, 30th November, is the last day of the consultation on the draft bill to amend the Tobacco Products Act. The amendment, which was submitted for consultation after a majority of voters backed the Children Without Tobacco referendum proposal to ban all tobacco and e-cigarette advertising accessible to children and young people. The preliminary draft is expected to be sent to Parliament for revision in the first half of 2023.

Switzerland: The Federal Council has approved an amendment to the Federal Law on Tobacco Taxation, taxing e-liquids at a rate that takes into account the lesser harmfulness of e-cigarettes relative to combustible tobacco. The proposed tax rate is CHF0.20 (€0.20) per ml for rechargeable cigarettes and CHF1 per ml for disposables. The proposal, which took into consideration the comments of both industry and authorities, will now be submitted to Parliament.

Switzerland: The Federal Council has submitted for consultation a draft bill to amend the Tobacco Products Act after a majority of voters in a referendum in February supported a proposal by the campaign group Children Without Tobacco to prevent tobacco and vaping advertising from reaching children and young people. The ban would include advertising in newspapers, at open-air events and online. The consultation will remain open until 30th November and the government expects the preliminary draft to be submitted to the Federal Assembly in the first half of 2023.

Switzerland: In a joint campaign with five other cantons, the Basel cantonal laboratory examined e-liquids for their nicotine content, prohibited ingredients and health warnings. After it was found that two thirds of the samples were not legally compliant, 44% were subjected to a sales ban for failings such as the nicotine content not being declared in the official language or chemicals being incorrectly classified. According to the health department, the high rate of non-compliance demonstrates that manufacturers and importers are not aware that the products come under the Federal Food Safety Act and the Chemicals Ordinance.

Switzerland: The Federal Office of Public Health has announced a smoking and vaping prevention campaign aimed at childen and young people under the title “Free. Fair. Futures”.

Switzerland: Stakeholders have until tomorrow to comment on the Federal Council consultation on a partial revision of the Tobacco Tax Act, which would set a tax on e-liquids 77% lower than that on combustible cigarettes. The Federal Department of Finance told ECigIntelligence it would revise the preliminary draft based on the results of the consultation. The draft will then be discussed in Parliament. The changes are not expected to come into force before mid/late 2023.

Switzerland: Answering a Federal Council consultation on possible e-cigarette taxation, the Swiss Tobacco Prevention Working Group has demanded that the tax should apply not only to e-cigarettes, but to all tobacco and nicotine products, based on nicotine content. They say products that are already taxed, such as heated and oral tobacco, should face an increase. The consultation is open until 31st March.