E-cigarettes in Switzerland

Global business and regulatory news and updates from the vape industry

14th December 2023

Haypp Group happy with UK vaping pilot and looking to expand sales in Europe

14th November 2023

E-cig use highest among young Swiss as government tries to lower smoking rates

20th October 2023

Switzerland may ease proposed ban and allow advertising of tobacco alternatives

More News analysis

Daily regulatory tracking of the e-cigarette sector. It includes weekly podcasts and monthly compilations

12th September 2024: Switzerland: Following a motion approval in the canton of Jura last week, a councillor from the Basel-Stadt canton, Christoph Hochuli, has tabled a motion calling for a cantonal ban on the sale of disposable e-cigarettes, press reports. The motion was reportedly signed by members of the cantonal parliament from almost all parties.
9th September 2024: Switzerland: In the Canton of Jura, the parliament has approved a motion by 55 votes to 2 to ban disposable e-cigarettes, press reports. “We have an obligation to react quickly because this phenomenon is a time bomb for the health of our citizens,” said Didier Spies from the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), who proposed the motion. It is not yet clear when the ban will become effective.
29th August 2024: Switzerland: The Federal Council will put into effect the Tobacco Products Act and the Ordinance on Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes on 1st October. Electronic cigarettes with and without nicotine will fall under the tobacco regulation and include a uniform ban on sales to under-18s, stricter advertising regulation, sales restrictions, packaging restrictions, reporting requirements and extension to the public usage obligations, among others. Amendments to the Tobacco Tax Act introducing a tax to e-cigarettes will also enter into force on the same date. The latest draft of the Tobacco Tax Act set a tax of CHF0.20 (€0.21) per ml of nicotine-containing e-liquid for reusable e-cigarettes and CHF1 (€1.07) per ml for disposable e-cigarettes, regardless of nicotine content.
9th July 2024: Switzerland: The Canton of Vaud has banned e-cigarette sales to under-18s and obligates retailers to verify the age of e-cig purchasers on the basis of an identity document. In addition, any business that does not currently have a licence to sell electronic cigarettes must apply to the local council for a licence. Bans on smoking in public places have been extended to e-cigarettes, and e-cig advertising in both public places and private places visible to the public is forbidden. A transitional period is provided until 31st January 2025 for licence application and advertising, and until 30th June 2025 for consumer age checks.
8th July 2024: Switzerland: The Federal Commission for Addiction and Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (EKSN) has published a discussion paper stating that tobacco products and e-cigarettes are under-regulated products, particularly in terms of marketing and advertising restrictions. The paper concludes that it would be advisable to introduce a licensing requirement for the production of these products and to raise their quality requirements.
4th July 2024: Switzerland: The Federal Statistical Office has released the Swiss Health Survey on tobacco consumption. The survey shows that more and more smokers are using heated tobacco products or e-cigarettes. In 2017 both products were used by 7% of smokers; in 2022 both were used by 16% of smokers, with 41% of that group also smoking conventional cigarettes. The use of e-cigarettes among the total population increased from 1.5% in 2017 to 3% in 2022.
13th June 2024: Switzerland: The National Council has adopted, by 122 votes to 63, a motion by member Christophe Clivaz of the Green Party to amend the Federal Law on Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes to ban disposable e-cigarettes. According to the motion, the ban is necessary due to the higher addictive potential for young people and the environmental impact of disposables. The motion will now be examined by the Council of States.
4th March 2024: Switzerland: On 29th February, the National Council voted 121 to 64 with 5 abstentions to reject the partial revision of the Tobacco Products Act, which restricts the advertising of tobacco and vaping products to children and adolescents. The Swiss People's Party felt that the proposal was too strict, while the Social Democratic Party and the Greens wanted a total advertising ban. The proposal now goes back to the Council of States for amendments. If the Council of States rejects it, or if the National Council rejects it a second time, the bill will not be passed and the parliament will have to submit a new bill.
22nd January 2024: Switzerland: The National Council's Social Security and Health Committee (SGK-N) has approved the partial revision of the Tobacco Products Act, which restricts advertising of tobacco and vaping products aimed at children and adolescents. The majority has followed the Council of States' proposals, but the SGK-N recommends that advertising should continue to be allowed in the inside section of newspapers and magazines sold under subscription and whose readership is mainly adults, and that the sale of tobacco products by mobile sales staff in public places should not be prohibited. The bill will be examined by the National Council in the spring session and is expected to enter into force in 2026.
20th December 2023: Switzerland: The Cantonal Laboratory of Basel-Stadt – part of the cantonal Health Department – has tested 32 disposable e-cigarettes for compliance with food and chemical legislation and all samples showed at least one deviation from the legal requirements. The laboratory tested the nicotine content, the amount of liquid, and the presence of toxic or prohibited ingredients. A total of 213 non-conformities were found for 18 different reasons. Seven sales bans were issued for non-compliant maximum nicotine content, use of banned leaded solder and use of toxic ingredients. The laboratory requires importers to fulfil their self-monitoring obligations, which include not using carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) substances and complying with European legislation.
6th November 2023: Switzerland: The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has published the Swiss Health Survey 2022, which has been carried out every five years since 1992. The survey shows that a total of 3% of the population used e-cigarettes in 2022. The highest level of use is among 15- to 24-year-olds (5% of males and 6% of females). When presenting the data, FOPH director Anne Lévy said: “When the new Tobacco Products Act comes into force in the middle of next year, a comprehensive ban on the sale of tobacco products for young people under the age of 18 will apply in Switzerland for the first time. In addition to conventional cigarettes, this also includes all other tobacco and nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes, disposables, heated tobacco products, snuff or snus.” She added: “This is a step in the right direction. Consistent implementation is also important.”
11th October 2023: Switzerland: As shown on our ECigIntelligence compliance calendar, tomorrow (12th October) is the last day of the consultation on the preliminary draft of the Ordinance on Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes. The ordinance specifies the provisions of the new Federal Law on Tobacco and Electronic Cigarettes – which was approved by Parliament in October 2021 and is expected to come into force in 2024 – and will determine the obligations of companies and regulation of test purchases.

Detailed full-length reports including data and analysis of numerous vaping markets around the world

20th May 2022

Switzerland: market snapshot, May 2022

15th March 2021

Snapshot: Switzerland, March 2021

14th August 2020

COVID-19 online markets tracker

More Market reports

Regulatory reports

Thorough reports providing legal and regulatory analysis of different countries and sections of the e-cigarette industry

11th July 2023

Switzerland: e-cigarette regulation, July 2023

2nd September 2022

Global policy on novel nicotine products: analysis from our new Policy Radar

21st April 2022

Switzerland: e-cigarette regulation, April 2022

More Regulatory reports

Interested in this region? Check our new country subscriptions

Pricing analysis for competitor benchmarking, including brands and form factors

27th August 2024

Detailed pricing tracker

17th July 2024

Online e-cig pricing: Switzerland

Regulatory trackers

Regular tracking of regulation and legislation around the vaping industry

7th August 2024

Tamarind Intelligence Policy Radar, July

27th June 2024

Europe regulatory tracker: restrictions, requirements and sanctions, September

More Regulatory trackers

Market profile database

User-friendly databases with key global analysis, statistics, directories and more

12th August 2024

Key global e-cigarette markets database, August 2024

More Market profile database

Regulatory databases

Up-to-date information about current regulations around the world, presented in excel spreadsheets

13th September 2024

ECigIntelligence compliance calendar

22nd June 2023

European intellectual property regulatory database

25th November 2022

European e-cig stakeholders database

More Regulatory databases

Sign up for a 7-day free trial

Discover our platform

Country subscriptions

Sign up to our newsletter

Stay up-to-date with key market trends and regulatory news and receive complimentary data on a regular basis.

"*" indicates required fields