Types of products used

• Conventional cigarettes remain the tobacco product most commonly used by 15 to 25-year-olds. Waterpipe and electronic cigarette (ENDS) use nevertheless account for a substantial share of tobacco use among young people.
• Nearly one in five 15-year-old boys (17.9%) and one in 10 girls of the same age (10.2%) have used a waterpipe at least once.
• Nearly one in four 15-year-old boys (23.7%) and one in eight girls of the same age (12.2%) have used snus.
• At age 15, more than four in 10 school pupils (41.9%) have used ENDS at least once. A substantial proportion of young people of this age — 7.1% of boys and girls — also reported using ENDS on at least 10 of the previous 30 days.
• Disposable ENDS (puffs) are clearly the most widely used type among minors, while refillable cartridge-based ENDS predominate among young adults.
• Among 15-year-olds, 6.7% of boys and 5.6% of girls have used heated tobacco products (HTPs) at least once.

As in the adult population, conventional cigarettes remain the tobacco product most commonly used by young people, whether or not e-cigarettes (Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems or ENDS), heated tobacco products (HTPs) and other so-called smokeless tobacco products are included (for a detailed description of these different products, see also our Products page). Waterpipe use also appears to still be an important part of tobacco use among young people.

Types of products used by 14 to 15-year-olds who smoke

The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study[1] documents smoking among school pupils primarily in terms of cigarettes, as most of its questions on smoking refer specifically to 'conventional cigarettes'. The figures presented in the section Smoking prevalence among 11 to 15-year-olds can therefore be read alongside the description below of the types of products used.

In addition to questions on 'conventional cigarettes', the 2022 HBSC study documented lifetime and 30-day prevalence of electronic cigarette use (ENDS; described in detail below) among school pupils aged 11-15. Among 14- and 15-year-olds, it also documented lifetime and 30-day prevalence of waterpipe, snus, nasal snuff, and heated tobacco product (HTP) use (Delgrande et al., 2023[2]). At age 15, nearly one in five boys (17.9%) and one in 10 girls (10.2%) said they had used a waterpipe at least once in their lives[3]. Waterpipe use during the previous 30 days was reported by 14.2% of boys and 8% of girls at age 15[4]. At age 14, 8.7% of boys and 4.9% of girls had used one during the previous 30 days. Lifetime prevalence of snus use was 13.2% among boys and 8.8% among girls aged 14, rising respectively to 23.7% and 12.2% at age 15[5]. Snus use during the previous 30 days was reported by 6.8% of 14-year-old boys, 4.2% of 14-year-old girls, 12.8% of 15-year-old boys, and 5.6% of 15-year-old girls[6]. All measures of snus use increased sharply between 2018 and 2022. For example, in 2018, the proportions of girls aged 14 and 15 who had used snus during the previous 30 days were 0.7% (age 14) and 1.3% (age 15), respectively. Nasal snuff use was also far from negligible in these age groups: more than one in 10 15-year-olds (10.3%) had used it during the 30 days preceding the 2022 survey[7]. Lifetime prevalence reached 21.7% at age 15 and 14.2% at age 14[8].

Types of products used by 15 to 25-year-olds

The 2022 Swiss Health Survey also provides an age breakdown of the types of products used. It shows that cigarettes are the tobacco product most commonly used by 15 to 25-year-olds: 22.9% of young people in this age group — 23.3% of women and 22.5% of men — smoke cigarettes (FSO, 2024[9]). Snus (7.2%; 2.8% of women and 11.2% of men), waterpipe (6.6%; 5.3% of women and 7.8% of men) and electronic cigarette use (5.3%; 5.6% of women and 5.1% of men) were nevertheless relatively common in this age group[10]. These findings echo one of the conclusions of analyses focusing specifically on 15 to 25-year-olds and based on 2016 Swiss Addiction Monitoring data (Kuendig et al., 2017[11]). Those analyses highlighted, for example, the popularity of waterpipes among minors who smoked: no fewer than 39.9% of occasional smokers and 24.9% of daily smokers aged 15-17 reported using a waterpipe (compared with 46.1% and 21.8% respectively among 18 to 19-year-olds). The Swiss Addiction Monitoring data also showed that a substantial proportion (22.3%) of non-smokers aged 15-25 — former smokers and people who had never smoked — reported using a waterpipe during the 12 months preceding the survey. The 2025 Health and Lifestyle omnibus survey[12] provided further data on waterpipe use among young people. It estimated that, while 2.5% of the population aged 15 and over used a waterpipe (measure without a specified reference period), overall prevalence reached 3.1% among 15 to 17-year-olds and 8.8% among 18 to 24-year-olds (FOPH, 2026[13]). At least weekly use reached 1.7% among 18 to 24-year-olds, compared with 0.6% across the population aged 15 and over. A figure was not published for 15 to 17-year-olds because too few respondents in this age group used a waterpipe weekly.

Oral tobacco and nicotine products

The 2022 Swiss Health Survey highlights the prevalence of snus use among 15 to 24-year-olds (FSO, 2024[10]). According to this data source, 11.2% of men in this age group used snus. Among women the figure was 2.8%, giving an overall prevalence of 7.2% among 15 to 24-year-olds.

The Health and Lifestyle omnibus survey[12] also collects data on oral and nasal tobacco products. It estimated that, in 2025, 2.0% of 15 to 17-year-olds and 4.9% of 18 to 24-year-olds used snus every month (compared with 1.2% across the population aged 15 and over; Notari et al., 2026[14]). The same survey found that monthly use of nicotine pouches reached 2.4% among 15 to 17-year-olds, making them more prevalent among minors than other oral products. Among 18 to 24-year-olds, at least monthly use of nicotine pouches reached 2.5% (compared with 0.7% across the population as a whole).

ENDS use is booming

For the first time, the 2022 HBSC study documented lifetime and 30-day prevalence of electronic cigarette use (ENDS; also referred to as 'vaporettes' in the survey) among school pupils aged 11-15. Lifetime prevalence was 4% at age 11, 9.2% at age 12, 19.6% at age 13, 32.6% at age 14, and 41.9% at age 15 (Delgrande Jordan et al., 2023[2]). At each age, prevalence was slightly higher among boys than girls. Use during the previous 30 days was reported by 1.6% of 11-year-olds (2.2% of boys and 1.1% of girls) and 3.1% of 12-year-olds (3.4% of boys and 2.8% of girls). The proportion then rose sharply with age: more than one in 10 13-year-olds (10.3%), more than one in six 14-year-olds (17.3%), and more than one in four 15-year-olds (25.1%) had used an e-cigarette during the previous 30 days. A substantial proportion of 14 to 15-year-olds also reported using ENDS on 10 or more of the previous 30 days: this applied to nearly one in 20 14-year-olds (4.7%) and one in 14 15-year-olds (7.1%). The survey also documented reasons for e-cigarette use. Among 14 to 15-year-olds who had ever used ENDS, a very large majority (over 90%) cited curiosity. Around one in two (48.8% at age 14 and 57.5% at age 15) said they did so 'because I like it'; between one in 10 (10.1% of 14-year-olds) and one in six (15.0% of 15-year-olds) did so 'to smoke fewer cigarettes'; and between one in 14 (7% of 14-year-olds) and one in 10 (10.7% of 15-year-olds) did so 'to help me stop smoking cigarettes'.

Data from this study are also available on trends in lifetime[15] and 30-day[16] prevalence of ENDS use among 14- and 15-year-old school pupils. For example, compared with 2018, ENDS use on at least 10 of the previous 30 days rose sharply among 15-year-olds in 2022, both among boys (from 3.7% to 6.7%) and girls (from 1.2% to 7.5%); both increases were statistically significant[2].

Figures on ENDS use from the 2022 Swiss Health Survey were published by the FSO alongside prevalence figures (FSO, 2023[17]) and subsequently in thematic analyses (FSO, 2024[9]). The survey found that, in 2022, 2.8% of the population aged 15 and over used electronic cigarettes, compared with 5.1% of men and 5.6% of women aged 15-24. These figures are markedly higher than in 2017. Detailed analyses of the 2017 SHS data were also published in the National Health Report 2020, combining 16 and 25-year-olds into a single group (Swiss Health Observatory, 2020[18]). These showed that, in 2017, 3.3% of young men and 1.2% of young women in this age group used ENDS occasionally or daily.

The FOPH's Health and Lifestyle omnibus survey[12] also documents electronic cigarette use. It estimated that, in 2025, at least monthly e-cigarette use reached 8.4% among 15 to 17-year-olds (Notari et al., 2026[14]). Daily use reached 4.1% in this age group (FOPH, 2026[13]). Among 18 to 24-year-olds, the corresponding prevalence figures were 6.4% for monthly use and 3.1% for daily use. By comparison, across the population aged 15 and over, the figures were 4% and 2.3% respectively.

For the first time, detailed analyses of the 2025 Health and Lifestyle Survey data also distinguish between three types of ENDS: disposable ENDS (puffs), refillable cartridge-based ENDS, and open-system ENDS refilled with e-liquid (Notari et al., 2026[14]). Among 15 to 17-year-olds who used such systems at least monthly, disposable systems were clearly the most prevalent (65.3%), compared with refillable liquid systems (34.7%) and cartridge-based systems (31%). Among 18 to 24-year-olds, by contrast, cartridge-based ENDS were clearly the most prevalent (70.4%), ahead of disposable ENDS (41.6%) and refillable liquid systems (11.7%). Refillable liquid systems clearly predominate over the other types among older monthly users.

Although their figures are difficult to compare with those cited above, regional studies provide useful additional context. A University of Zurich study conducted in 2021 on the influence of the social and media environment on health behaviours among 15 to 19-year-olds found that 6.3% of 15 to 19-year-olds used ENDS at least monthly and 1.2% used them daily (Frey and Friemel, 2021[19]). In French-speaking Switzerland, data collected in 2022 by Unisanté and Promotion santé Valais highlighted the prevalence of puffs among 14 to 25-year-olds: 59% of participants in this non-representative convenience sample had used puffs at least once, and 12% said they had used them on 10 or more of the 30 days preceding the survey (Chok et al., 2023[20]).

Heated tobacco products

The 2022 HBSC study also documented lifetime and 30-day prevalence of heated tobacco product (HTP) use among school pupils aged 14 and 15 (Delgrande et al., 2023[2]). In 2022, 6.7% of 15-year-old boys and 5.6% of girls of the same age had used HTPs at least once in their lives[21], compared with 5.3% of 14-year-old boys and 3.7% of 14-year-old girls. Unsurprisingly, HTP use during the 30 days preceding the survey was considerably lower[22] (age 14: boys 1.6%, girls 2.4%; age 15: boys 3.9%, girls 2.9%). HTP use appears to have risen sharply compared with 2018, both in terms of lifetime and 30-day prevalence. For example, lifetime prevalence among 15-year-old boys increased from 2.2% to 6.7%.

The 2022 Swiss Health Survey also collected data on heated tobacco product use among 15 to 24-year-olds (FSO, 2024[23]). According to the SHS, 1.8% of 15 to 24-year-olds used these products in 2022, a level comparable with that of the population as a whole (1.9%). In this age group, use was equally prevalent among men and women.

The FOPH's Health and Lifestyle omnibus survey[12] has also provided information on these products for several years. The survey found that, in 2025, fewer than 1.8% of 15 to 17-year-olds used heated tobacco products monthly, compared with 3.2% of 18 to 24-year-olds (Notari et al., 2026[14]). Daily use reached 2.4% among 18 to 24-year-olds, exceeding the estimate for the population aged 15 and over as a whole (2.2%).

[1] https://www.hbsc.ch; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[2] Delgrande Jordan, Marina ; Balsiger, Nora; Schmidhauser, Valentine. (2023). Consommation de substances psychoactives chez les 11 à 15 ans en Suisse - Situation en 2022 et évolution dans le temps - Résultats de l'étude Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) (Rapport de recherche No 149). Lausanne: Addiction Suisse. Download.

[3] https://www.hbsc.ch/fr/tableaux-standards/substance_use/lifetime-prevalence-waterpipe.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[4] https://www.hbsc.ch/fr/tableaux-standards/substance_use/thirty-day-prevalence-waterpipe.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[5] https://www.hbsc.ch/fr/tableaux-standards/substance_use/lifetime-prevalence-snus.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[6] https://www.hbsc.ch/fr/tableaux-standards/substance_use/thrity-day-prevalence-snus.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[7] https://www.hbsc.ch/fr/tableaux-standards/substance_use/thirty-day-prevalence-snuff.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[8] https://www.hbsc.ch/fr/tableaux-standards/substance_use/lifetime-prevalence-snuff-use.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[9] OFS (2024). Actualité OFS - Enquête suisse sur la santé – La consommation de tabac de 1992 à 2022. OFS. Neuchâtel. Download.

[10] https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/fr/home/statistiques/sante/enquetes/sgb/resultats-publications.assetdetail.31866312.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[11] Kuendig, Hervé ; Notari, Luca ; Gmel, Gerhard. (2017). Le tabagisme chez les 15 à 25 ans en 2016 - Analyse des données 2016 du Monitorage suisse des addictions. Addiction Suisse. Lausanne. Download.

[12] https://www.bag.admin.ch/fr/enquete-sante-et-lifestyle; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[13] Données en voie de publication au moment de la rédaction du texte ; Disponibles à moyen terme sur la page dédiée au volet 2025 de l’Enquête Santé et Lifestyle du site de l’Office fédéral de la santé publique : https://www.bag.admin.ch/fr/enquete-sante-et-lifestyle-2025 (as at 30.04.2026).

[14] Notari, L., Amos, J., & Delgrande Jordan, M. (2026). Produits du tabac et de la nicotine – Résultats de l’Enquête Santé et Lifestyle 2025 et évolutions récentes. Addiction Suisse. Download.

[15] https://www.hbsc.ch/fr/tableaux-standards/substance_use/lifetime-prevalence-of-ecigarette-use.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[16] https://www.hbsc.ch/fr/tableaux-standards/substance_use/thirty-day-prevalence-of-ecigarette-use.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[17] OFS (2023). Enquête suisse sur la santé 2022 – Vue d’ensemble. OFS. Neuchâtel. Download.

[18] Observatoire Suisse de la santé (2020). La santé en Suisse – Enfants, adolescents et jeunes adultes. Rapport national sur la santé 2020. Bern: Hogrefe Verlag. Download.

[19] Frey, Tobias; Friemel, Thomas N. (2021). Substanzkonsum unter Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen in der Schweiz im Jahr 2021. Eine repräsentative Befragung unter 15- bis 19-Jährigen. Zürich: Universität Zürich. Download.

[20] Chok, Lorraine; Cros, Jérémy; Lebon, Luc; Zürcher, Karin; Dubuis, Alexandre; Berthouzoz, Cathy; Suris, Joan-Carles; Barrense-Dias, Yara. (2023). Enquête sur l'usage et les représentations des cigarettes électroniques jetables (puffs) parmi les jeunes romand·es (Raisons de santé 344). Unisanté – Centre universitaire de médecine générale et santé publique. Download.

[21] https://www.hbsc.ch/fr/tableaux-standards/substance_use/lifetime-prevalence-heat-not-burn.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[22] https://www.hbsc.ch/fr/tableaux-standards/substance_use/thirty-day-prevalence-heat-not-burn.html; accessed on 30.04.2026.

[23] https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/fr/home/statistiques/sante/determinants/tabac.assetdetail.31866320.html ; accessed on 30.04.2026.

AT Switzerland, April 2026