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Philip Morris increases its funding of the FDP and SVP

Philip Morris International (PMI) continues to directly fund Swiss political parties. According to new political financing data analysed by Lobbywatch, the tobacco company paid a total of CHF 105,000 to the FDP and SVP in 2025.

These new figures confirm a practice that AT Switzerland had already brought to light in October 2023. When the first transparency requirements applicable to federal elections came into force, AT Switzerland revealed that PMI had paid CHF 35,000 to the FDP and CHF 35,000 to the SVP, a total of CHF 70,000, to support their election campaigns.

AT Switzerland’s 2023 publication is available here: “The 2023 federal elections and Philip Morris’s money”.

The 2025 figures therefore show that PMI’s political funding was not limited to the 2023 election year. Two years later, the tobacco company continues to provide financial support to these two parties – and at an even higher overall level.

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This continuity is particularly significant in the context of Swiss tobacco and nicotine policy. The FDP and SVP play a major role in parliamentary decisions concerning, among other issues, the taxation of tobacco and nicotine products, advertising restrictions, youth protection and the regulation of new products.

Transparency regarding this funding is therefore essential to enable the public to understand which economic interests are seeking to influence political decisions. However, it provides only a partial picture of this influence: only contributions exceeding the statutory disclosure threshold become visible, while industry influence is also exercised through lobbying, business associations, mandates and direct contacts with political decision-makers.

Sources:

Lobbywatch, Political party financing 2025:
https://lobbywatch.ch/parteifinanzen2025/

AT Switzerland, The 2023 federal elections and Philip Morris’s money

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