Starting to smoke
- Nearly two thirds (65.2%) of daily smokers began smoking daily before the age of 20.
- More than one in six 18 to 19-year-olds (17.2%) had smoked daily before the age of 18.
The age at which smoking begins is clearly a key factor in the development of smoking, both for individual behaviour and from an epidemiological perspective. Starting at an early age is generally associated with higher levels of nicotine dependence and a greater likelihood of continuing to smoke in adulthood[1] (see also the Consequences section on our Young people and smoking page for young people's health information). In addition, the tobacco industry's extensive investment in marketing and advertising aimed particularly at young people — minors and young adults — is its principal means of recruiting new consumers, including to replace those who stop smoking or die.
The latest nationally representative data on the age at which people start smoking date from 2016, when they were collected through the CoRolAR survey as part of Swiss Addiction Monitoring. This highlights the gaps in Switzerland's current epidemiological monitoring system for smoking.
Most people who smoke daily start before the age of 20
Nearly two thirds (65.2%) of all daily smokers surveyed in the 2016 CoRolAR study, part of Swiss Addiction Monitoring, reported that they had begun smoking daily before the age of 20 (Gmel et al., 2017[2]).
According to the same survey, more than one in six 18 to 19-year-olds (17.2%) said they had smoked daily before turning 18. This represented more than half of those in this age group who had ever smoked (Kuendig et al., 2017[3]). Across the population aged 15 and over, 16.8% had begun smoking daily before the age of 18.
Figure 1: Proportion of people (in %) who started smoking daily before the ages of 15, 18 and 20, as a percentage of the total population aged 15 and over, CoRolAR 2016 (Source: Gmel et al., 20174).
Average age at which daily smoking begins
In its final annual report, based on data collected in 2016, Swiss Addiction Monitoring also documented the average age at which daily smoking began. Based on responses from people who smoked daily at the time or had done so in the past, the average was estimated at 15 years among 15 to 17-year-olds, 16 years among 18 to 19-year-olds, 16.7 years among 20 to 24-year-olds and 17 years among 25 to 29-year-olds (Gmel et al., 2017[2]).
First product used
Detailed analyses of the 2025 Health and Lifestyle Survey — an online omnibus survey conducted on behalf of the TPF — show that, among people who used products containing tobacco or nicotine at least once a month (and therefore not only people who smoked), more than four fifths (80.2%) began with cigarettes (Notari et al., 2026[4]).
[1] P.ex. Ali, Fatma RM; Agaku, Israel T; Sharapova, Saida R; Reimels, Elizabeth A; Homa, David M. Onset of Regular Smoking Before Age 21 and Subsequent Nicotine Dependence and Cessation Behavior Among US Adult Smokers. Preventing Chronic Disease. 2020 16;17: E06.
[2] Gmel, Gerhard ; Kuendig, Hervé ; Notari, Luca (2017) : Monitorage suisse des addictions Consommation d’alcool, de tabac et de drogues illégales en Suisse en 2016. Sucht Schweiz. Lausanne. Download.
[3] Kuendig, Hervé; Notari, Luca; Gmel, Gerhard (2017). Le tabagisme chez les 15 à 25 ans en 2016 - Analyse des données du Monitorage suisse des addictions. Lausanne : Addiction Suisse. Download.
[4] 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.
AT Switzerland, April 2026