This is how Switzerland smokes compared to other countries

In Switzerland, 9,500 people die each year as a result of tobacco use, but the share of smokers remains more or less constant. For today’s World No Tobacco Day, the current situation in Switzerland and a look beyond the local ashtray.
Phillip Reich

Smoking is the biggest preventable health risk in western industrialized countries. This also applies to Switzerland: every year about 9,500 people die prematurely in this country as a result of smoking. Tobacco use causes a range of non-communicable diseases and is a major burden on public health and economic performance. The cost of medical treatment of these diseases in Switzerland amounts to three billion Swiss francs per year.

Everyone has known for a long time that smoking is harmful, but many still turn to cigarettes: tobacco consumption fell significantly between 1997 and 2007, but has since remained stable at a high level. In the latest health survey by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FSO), 27.1 percent of the population over the age of 15, or about two million people, smoked. On average half a pack a day. Among 20 to 24-year-olds, the share is significantly higher and stable at 40 percent.

E-cigarettes are even less popular: in 2022, three percent of the Swiss population would smoke an electronic cigarette at least once. Warming tobacco products and snus were used by 2.8 percent of the population.

The EU wants to be completely smoke-free by 2040. In 2022, she set herself the ambitious goal of creating a “smoke-free generation” in the European plan to fight cancer. This means that less than five percent of the population uses tobacco. The share of smokers in the EU is currently around 25 percent.

Unlike the EU, Switzerland has not set such a quantified target. However, the Federal Office of Health (BAG) wants to reduce the number of tobacco-related deaths and illnesses in Switzerland and is therefore conducting a national tobacco prevention policy on behalf of the Federal Council. The Federal Council recently decided that advertising of tobacco products and e-cigarettes should be banned from 2026.

Based on surveys conducted between 2019 and 2021, the World Health Organization predicts that Switzerland will have a smoking rate of 25.1 percent by 2023. This puts Switzerland in 36th place out of 164 countries surveyed worldwide, ahead of its neighbors Germany, Austria and Italy. In France, on the other hand, people smoke more, with a smoking share of 33.3 percent, the “Grande Nation” occupies the top position among Western European countries.

According to the WHO forecast, the most extreme smokers live on the Pacific island of Nauru: a total of 42.1 percent of all inhabitants of the mini-island state smoke cigarettes every day. It is followed by Serbia with a smoking rate of 39 percent, followed by Bulgaria, another country of the Balkan Peninsula, in third place. In general, it is noticeable that smoking is above average in the Balkans and the Pacific Islands.

  1. Nauru: 42.1 percent
  2. Serbia: 39.0 percent
  3. Bulgaria: 38.0 percent
  4. Kiribati: 37.5 percent
  5. Papua New Guinea: 37.5 percent
  6. Croatia: 37.4 percent
  7. Jordan: 35.5 percent
  8. Solomon Islands: 35.5 percent
  9. Cyprus: 34.5 percent
  10. Latvia: 34.2 percent

The number of smokers is lowest in Africa. Of the 165 countries surveyed, Ghana takes the top spot, followed by Nigeria, Ethiopia and Benin. But not all that glitters is gold: Sub-Saharan Africa also has a tobacco problem. Especially in the countries around the equator, smokeless tobacco products are consumed more often than average.

  1. Ghana: 2.2 percent
  2. Niger: 2.5 percent
  3. Ethiopia: 3.5 percent
  4. Benin: 4.1 percent
  5. Panama: 4.4 percent
  6. Eritrea: 4.5 percent
  7. Sao Tome and Principe: 4.7 percent
  8. To go: 4.9 percent
  9. Turkmenistan: 5.0 percent
  10. Cameroon: 5.3 percent

Although the WHO has predicted a smoking rate of 13.9 percent for Sweden for 2023, the Scandinavian kingdom will soon be the first European country to call itself “smoke-free”. In recent years, the number of smokers in Sweden has fallen sharply. According to the EU’s special Eurobarometer survey 506, the share of smokers was still 6.6 percent in 2021 and the trend will continue. The magic 5 percent limit should be cracked soon.

But how did Sweden do? It certainly wasn’t the price for a pack of cigarettes. According to the WHO, one of these will cost the equivalent of $7.83 in 2020, which is even less than in Switzerland ($9.69). The tobacco tax charged by Stockholm is therefore not excessive. In fact, it’s almost negligibly small compared to that in Australia, where the package is the most expensive in the world at over $21.

On the contrary, Sweden’s success, according to the “Spiegel”, can be traced back to years of restrictive tobacco prevention policies. As early as 2005, the government imposed a smoking ban in restaurants. By comparison In Switzerland, the federal law to protect against passive smoking did not come into force until five years later.

In addition, stricter rules have been successively introduced in recent years – with the great approval of the Swedish population. In 2019, a smoking ban was issued in the outdoor areas of restaurants and bars, on playing and sports fields, on platforms and at bus stops. Due to the bans, smoking has largely disappeared from the social image.

While Sweden will soon be smoke-free, the country is far from being tobacco or nicotine free. Many smokers have simply switched to snus: According to tobaccoatlas.org, 16 percent of the Swedish population uses smokeless tobacco products every day, according to “Spiegel,” more than 20 percent of men and about 7 percent of women use snus for oral use.

At least in terms of cancer risk, snus is clearly the better choice. Swedish men have the lowest rate of lung cancer in the EU, it is only about half that of Germany, which has a lower rate of smokers than Switzerland. Looking at the deaths believed to be related to smoking, Swedish men had a death rate about 40 percent lower than the EU average.

But snus is by no means harmless – if only because of its potential for addiction. Long-term use may also increase your risk of heart attack or diabetes. However, research still lags behind consumption. Snus always seems to be better than the smoke from lit cigarettes. It therefore seems paradoxical that cigarette smoking remains legal, but snus is still banned in the EU – with the exception of Sweden and unlike Switzerland.

Phillip Reich

source: watson

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Maxine

Maxine

I'm Maxine Reitz, a journalist and news writer at 24 Instant News. I specialize in health-related topics and have written hundreds of articles on the subject. My work has been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Healthline. As an experienced professional in the industry, I have consistently demonstrated an ability to develop compelling stories that engage readers.

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