Swiss Parliament Moves Closer to Partial Ban on Tobacco Advertising

Swiss parliament partial ban tobacco advertising

The Swiss House of Representatives has taken a step towards partially banning tobacco advertising in print media. On Monday, the lower house of parliament endorsed restrictions on tobacco advertising, with some relaxations, after initially rejecting the initiative.

In 2022, a majority of Swiss voters (56.6%) approved the “Children and young people without tobacco advertising” initiative, which aims to ban all forms of tobacco advertising accessible to children. The government’s revision of the law seeks to give concrete form to this text, targeting print media, events open to young people, and sponsorship.

The House of Representatives approved certain relaxations decided by the Senate and also introduced others. For instance, they decided that tobacco advertising would be banned in print media unless it appears in the inside section of newspapers sold mainly by subscription and whose readership consists of at least 98% adults.

Furthermore, following the lead of the senators, the House of Representatives decided that tobacco advertising should be permitted in places accessible to minors, provided that it is neither visible nor accessible to them.

Left-wing parties argued in favor of the government’s more restrictive version of the law. Léonore Porchet from the Greens pointed out that Switzerland is the only European country that has not banned tobacco advertising in the press. However, their efforts were unsuccessful.

The House of Representatives also began discussions on the provisions relating to sponsorship. However, these discussions were interrupted early and are set to resume next week.

The partial ban on tobacco advertising in Switzerland marks a significant step towards protecting children and young people from the harmful effects of tobacco marketing. As the country moves closer to aligning its regulations with other European nations, the debate between public health concerns and the interests of the tobacco industry continues to shape the legislative process.

Matthew Ma
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