Types of products consumed

  • The traditional cigarette is still by far the tobacco product consumed the most by smokers in Switzerland.
  • 2.8% of the Swiss population ages 15 and older use e-cigarettes (ENDS); 5.1% of males et 5.6% of females ages 15 to 24 consume them.
  • 1.9% of the population ages 15 and older consume heated tobacco products (HTP).
  • The absence of more detailed data relating to the use of ENDS (and in particular the absence of specific data relating to the use of new generation ENDS, such as puff bars, etc.) makes it difficult to produce a tangible inventory of the types of products currently consumed in Switzerland.
  • Amongst younger smokers, the water pipe still appears to be very popular.

The traditional cigarette remains by far the most consumed tobacco product in Switzerland, even taking into account e-cigarettes (SEDEN), heated tobacco products (HTP) or other so-called smokeless tobacco products (for a detailed description of these different products, please see our other page, Products).

Cigarettes are still popular

Data from the 2022 Swiss Health Survey (ESS) show that cigarettes are still the leading tobacco product in Switzerland (OFS [Federal Statistical Office], 2024[1]): 20.2% of the population ages 15 and older consume tobacco in this form, some 85% of smokers, according to OFS estimates[1]. In the background, the other products appear to be relatively marginal, with 2.8% of smokers using e-cigarettes, 2.1% smoking cigars, 1.9% using IQOS heated tobacco products, 1.6% using cigarillos, 1.5% using water pipes (shisha or hookah), and finally 0.5% using pipes (Figure A1A-9). The distribution of the consumption of these products differs only slightly between males and females, except for cigars, cigarillos and pipes, which are clearly less consumed by females than by males. It should also be noted that, as an exception, females are proportionally more likely than males to smoke heated tobacco products: across the population as a whole, the proportion of female users of such products reached 2.2%, compared to 1.7% for males.

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Figure A1A-9 –Prevalence of the use of various tobacco products and e-cigarettes in the population (%), in total and according to gender, ESS 2022 (OFS, 2024[1]).

Young people and water pipes

Another notable observation from the 2022 ESS is that while water pipe consumption reached 1.5% of the total population, no fewer than one in 15 people – 6.6% – aged 15 to 24 said they used it (OFS, 2024[1]). The Federal Office of Public Health’s (FOPH) Omnibus "Health and Lifestyle" survey[2] conducted in 2023 offers an even more salient image. In this survey, an estimated 3.0% of the population aged 15 and older had used water pipes in the last 12 months (OFSP, 2024[3]). Among those 15 to 24 years old, the prevalence of usage in the previous 12 months reached 9.9%. These observations echo one of the findings during analyses specifically targeting 15- to 25-year-olds based on 2016 data from the Swiss Addiction Monitoring Survey (Kuendig et al., 2017[4]). These analyses highlighted the great popularity of the water pipe among underage smokers. Indeed, no less than 39.9% of occasional smokers and 24.9% of daily smokers aged 15 to 17 reported smoking a water pipe (these proportions reached 46.1% and 21.8% respectively among 18- and 19-year-olds).

Products consumed orally

Data on the consumption of oral and nasal tobacco products (snuff) are available both in the 2022 Swiss Health Survey (ESS) and in the 2023 Omnibus “Health and Lifestyle” survey[5], an online survey conducted by the OFS on behalf of the Federal Office of Public Health (OFSP).

In the context of the 2022 ESS (OFS, 2024[6]), the share of the population consuming snus reached 1.8%, with significant disparities between males (3.1%) and females (0.5%), amongst age groups (with prevalence of use reaching 7.2% amongst 15- to 24- year-olds and 4.0% amongst 25- to 34-year-olds), as well as amongst linguistic regions (2.2% in German-speaking Switzerland compared to 0.8% in other regions).

In the 2023 Omnibus “Health and Lifestyle” survey, 5.4% of the population consumed at least one oral or nasal tobacco product (OFSP, 2024[7]); this share reached 17.7% amongst 18- to 24-year-olds and 15.7% amongst 25- to 34-year-olds. Across all age groups, the use of snuff (3.4%) slightly exceeded that of snus (2.1%). The consumption of nicotine pouches concerned 1.0% of the population. It should be noted that the proportions of snuff and snus users reached 1.6% and 0.9% respectively in a previous “Health and Lifestyle” survey, conducted in 2018[8]. It should be noted, however, that at the time of this previous measure, in 2018, snus was not yet authorised for sale in Switzerland. It has been authorised since May 2019 (as are nicotine pouches) and it is hardly surprising that its use has increased in recent years.

ENDS: a rapidly growing phenomenon

As mentioned above, figures related to the use of ENDS were published by the 2022 Swiss Health Survey (OFS, 2023[9]; OFS, 2024[10]). It thus appears that in 2022, 2.8% of the population aged 15 and older used electronic cigarettes. This share reached 5.1% among males and 5.6% amongst females aged 15 to 24 respectively. According to OFS estimates[11], 16% of smokers consumed e-cigarettes – alone or in combination with other tobacco products. It should also be noted here that the legal framework and the ENDS market have evolved considerably in recent years. In particular, the sale of liquids with nicotine was not legal before 2018 (only their individual importation was) and new generation products such as puff bars weren’t yet available.

OFSP’s Omnibus “Health and Lifestyle” survey[12] also documents the use of e-cigarettes in the population aged 15 and older. As part of this survey, it is estimated that in 2023, 2.1% of the population aged 15 and older consumed this type of product daily, for a total of 6.2% of consumers over the last 12 months (OFSP, 2024[13]). The prevalence of use in the last 12 months in this survey reached 14.4% in the 15 to 17 age group and 16.7% in the 18 to 24 age group, compared to a maximum of only around 8% in the other age groups considered.

Heated tobacco products

The 2022 Swiss Health Survey reveals that 1.9% of people aged 15 and older (2.2% of females, 1.7% of males) consumed – alone or in combination with other tobacco products – heated tobacco products such as IQOS (Figure A1A-9; OFS, 2024[14]]). These data reveal that this consumption reaches 3.0% in the 25 to 34 age group, 2.8% in the 35 to 44 age group and 2.5% in the 45 to 54 age group (it remains however below 2% for groups under 25 and over 54 years of age).

Data on the consumption of heated tobacco products were also collected as part of the 2023 Omnibus “Health and Lifestyle” survey [15]. In this survey, it is estimated that 2.2% of the population aged 15 and older consumed this type of tobacco product on a daily basis (OFSP, 2024 [16]); a share comparable to that recorded in the 2022 ESS, which, however, considered the consumption of tobacco products regardless of frequency (i.e. daily and occasional use). Incidentally, according to this survey, a total of 2.9% of the population would have used these products at least monthly; the prevalence of at least monthly use of these products is around 4% in the age groups 25 to 34 years (3.9%), 35 to 44 years (3.8%) and 45 to 54 years (3.8%).

[1] OFS (2024). OFS News – ESS (Swiss Health Survey) – Tobacco Consumption from 1992 to 2022. OFS. Neuchâtel. Download.

[2] https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/fr/home/das-bag/ressortforschung-evaluation/forschung-im-bag/forschung-nichtuebertragbare-krankheiten/monitoring-systemncd/erhebung-gesundheit-lifestyle.html; accessed 08.11.2024.

[3] https://www.bag.admin.ch/dam/bag/fr/dokumente/npp/monam/sante-lifestyle-2023/sante-lifestyle-2023-praevalenz-tabak-nikotin.xlsx.download.xlsx/Partie1_Enquete_Sante_Lifestyle_2023_Tabac_Nicotine.xlsx; accessed 08.11.2024.

[4] 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.

[5] https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/fr/home/das-bag/ressortforschung-evaluation/forschung-im-bag/forschung-nichtuebertragbare-krankheiten/monitoring-systemncd/erhebung-gesundheit-lifestyle.html; accessed 08.11.2024.

[6] OFS (2024). OFS News – ESS (Swiss Health Survey) – Tobacco Consumption from 1992 to 2022. OFS. Neuchâtel. Download.

[7] https://www.bag.admin.ch/dam/bag/fr/dokumente/npp/monam/sante-lifestyle-2023/sante-lifestyle-2023-praevalenz-tabak-nikotin.xlsx.download.xlsx/Partie1_Enquete_Sante_Lifestyle_2023_Tabac_Nicotine.xlsx; accessed 08.11.2024.

[8] https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/fr/home/das-bag/ressortforschung-evaluation/forschung-im-bag/forschung-nichtuebertragbare-krankheiten/monitoring-systemncd/erhebung-gesundheit-lifestyle.html; accessed 16.11.2023.

[9] OFS (2023). 2022 Swiss Health Survey – Overview. OFS. Neuchâtel. Download.

[10] OFS (2024). OFS News – ESS (Swiss Health Survey) – Tobacco Consumption from 1992 to 2022. OFS. Neuchâtel. Download.

[11] OFS (2024). OFS News – Swiss Health Survey – Tobacco consumption between 1992 and 2022. OFS. Neuchâtel. Download.

[12] https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/fr/home/das-bag/ressortforschung-evaluation/forschung-im-bag/forschung-nichtuebertragbare-krankheiten/monitoring-systemncd/erhebung-gesundheit-lifestyle.html; accessed 08.11.2024.

[13] https://www.bag.admin.ch/dam/bag/fr/dokumente/npp/monam/sante-lifestyle-2023/sante-lifestyle-2023-praevalenz-tabak-nikotin.xlsx.download.xlsx/Partie1_Enquete_Sante_Lifestyle_2023_Tabac_Nicotine.xlsx; accessed 08.11.2024.

[14] OFS (2024). OFS News – ESS (Swiss Health Survey) – Tobacco Consumption from 1992 to 2022. OFS. Neuchâtel. Download.

[15] https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/fr/home/das-bag/ressortforschung-evaluation/forschung-im-bag/forschung-nichtuebertragbare-krankheiten/monitoring-systemncd/erhebung-gesundheit-lifestyle.html; accessed 08.11.2024.

[16] https://www.bag.admin.ch/dam/bag/fr/dokumente/npp/monam/sante-lifestyle-2023/sante-lifestyle-2023-praevalenz-tabak-nikotin.xlsx.download.xlsx/Partie1_Enquete_Sante_Lifestyle_2023_Tabac_Nicotine.xlsx; accessed 08.11.2024.

AT Switzerland, February 2025

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