Smoking prevalence in the general population
- 23.9% of the population aged 15 and over smokes.
- People under 45, men, and those from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds are substantially more likely to smoke
- More than two thirds of people who smoke do so every day, equivalent to nearly one in six people aged 15 and over
Systematic monitoring of smoking in Switzerland relies primarily on data collected through the Swiss Health Survey[1] (SHS). Because the survey contains only a limited number of questions on smoking, the data are restricted in scope. They are also almost invariably out of date, as they are collected only every five years and detailed estimates do not become available until one to two years after data collection. Other older or less representative data sources nevertheless help to complete the picture presented below.
Nearly one quarter of the population smokes
In Switzerland, the latest nationally representative epidemiological data show that 23.9% of the population aged 15 and over smokes. These data were collected through the 2022 Swiss Health Survey (Figure 1). The proportion varies considerably between population subgroups, however, depending on age, sex, and other sociodemographic and economic characteristics.
Figure 1 – Prevalence of smoking (%), in total and by sex, ESS 2022 (Sources OFS, 2023[2]).
Young people and men
People under 45 and men are substantially more likely to smoke than older people and women.
Among men and women combined, the proportion of people who smoked in 2022 ranged from 25.8% to 29.0% across the age groups under 45 — the groups most affected by smoking.
Across all age groups, just over one fifth of women smoked (20.8%), compared with 27.1% of men. Among men, smoking affected around one in three aged 25-34 (32.9%) and 35-44 (33.4%), and more than one in four aged 15-24 (25.4%) and 55-64 (26.9%). Among people aged 65-74, the proportion who smoked was close to 20%, before falling markedly at older ages. The pattern among women differed: smoking prevalence was highest among 15 to 24-year-olds, at 26.2%, then fell slightly among those aged 25-34 (24.6%), 35-44 (24.3%) and 45-54 (20.1%), before rising again among 55 to 64-year-olds (22.9%). In a relatively unusual finding, the 2022 SHS data suggest that, among 15 to 24-year-olds, the proportion of women who smoke now exceeds the proportion of men.
Figure 2 – Prevalence of smoking (%), by age and gender, ESS 2022 (Sources OFS, 2023[2]).
Regional and socioeconomic disparities
Smoking prevalence also varies slightly between language regions. In 2022, the proportion of people who smoked was somewhat higher in Italian-speaking Switzerland (26.0%) than in German-speaking Switzerland (23.7%) and French-speaking Switzerland (24.3%). More substantial differences were observed among people over age 25 according to educational attainment: smoking rates were markedly higher among those whose highest qualification was compulsory education (25.2%) or upper-secondary education (26.9%) than among those who had completed higher vocational education or studied at a higher education institution (20.0%). The SHS data also show differences by nationality and employment status. In 2022, 22.5% of Swiss nationals smoked, compared with 28.2% of foreign nationals. Unemployment was likewise associated with a higher proportion of people who smoked: 41.8% of unemployed people smoked, compared with 26.6% of employed people (those in paid work) and 27.5% of people classified as economically inactive according to FSO criteria (Obsan, 2026[2]).
A very high proportion smoke daily
Daily tobacco use is clearly more common than occasional use. Based on the 2022 SHS data (FSO, 2024[3]), more than two thirds of people who smoke do so every day, equivalent to nearly one in six people aged 15 and over. The figure was 18.3% among men and 14.0% among women. The data also show that, while daily smokers only slightly outnumber occasional smokers among 15 to 24-year-olds, the gap widens considerably with age (Figure 4; FSO, 2024[4]).
Use of tobacco and nicotine products
Although the prevalence of smoking in the strict sense has historically been the standard epidemiological indicator, the Health and Lifestyle Survey[5] — an online omnibus survey conducted by the FSO on behalf of the Tobacco Prevention Fund (TPF) — has covered all products containing tobacco or nicotine since 2023. This approach captures changing patterns of use in a context of increasingly diverse products, including electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and snus. Analysis of the survey's 2025 data shows that nearly one quarter of the Swiss population aged 15 and over (22.5%) used a product containing tobacco or nicotine at least monthly (Notari et al., 2026[6]). Daily use affected 15.8% of the population. According to the same survey, 14.9% of the population used tobacco or nicotine products daily in 2024, while 27.2% used them at least monthly (Wieber et al., 2026[7]; Addiction Suisse, 2026[8]). In 2023, the corresponding figures were 16.0% and 23.4%, comparable with those recorded in 2025 (Bächler et al., 2025[9]).
[1] https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/fr/home/statistiques/sante/enquetes/sgb.html; consulted on 30.04.2026.
[2] https://ind.obsan.admin.ch/fr/indicator/monam/tabagisme-age-15; consulted on 30.04.2026.
[3] OFS, 2024. Consommation de tabac selon le sexe, en 2022. lien: https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/en/32028195; consulted on30.04.2026.
[4] OFS, 2024, Actualité OFS. Enquête suisse sur la santé - La consommation de tabac de 1992 à 2022. OFS. Neuchâtel. Download.
[5] https://www.bag.admin.ch/fr/enquete-sante-et-lifestyle; consulted on 30.04.2026.
[6] 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.
[7] Wieber, F., Bächler, J., Studer, H., Sen, V., & Müller, S. (2026). Erhebung Gesundheit und Lifestyle 2024: Analyse des Tabak- und Nikotinkonsums. ZHAW. Download.
[8] Addiction Suisse (2026). Panorama suisse des addictions 2026 : Changer de cap : investir dans la prévention. Addiction Suisse Lausanne. Download.
[9] Bächler, J., Baumann, I., Studer, H., Müller, S., & Wieber, F. (2025). Erhebung Gesundheit und Lifestyle 2023: Analyse des Tabak- und Nikotinkonsums. ZHAW. Download.
AT Switzerland, April 2026