Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Lure of e-cigarettes for schoolchildren raises alarm

Girl smokes an e-cigarette
Swiss law changes are underway to protect minors from e-cigarettes. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Half of Swiss boys and a third of girls aged 15 have tried e-cigarettes at least once, suggests a survey of addiction among schoolchildren. The finding has alarmed the group Addiction Switzerland, which carried out the study of 11,000 children between the ages of 11 and 15.

This is a higher rate than for smokers of conventional cigarettes. The figure for vaping was 21% for boys and 13% for girls. The addiction surveyExternal link, conducted last year, included the e-cigarette and vaping categories for the first time.

“Vaping should not become normal consumer behaviour among young people,” said Grégoire Vittoz, director of Addiction Switzerland, in a statement. Swiss law is currently being adapted to protect minors from the new phenomenon, just like tobacco products.

But Addiction SwitzerlandExternal link also called for such products to be priced beyond the means of schoolchildren, and for advertising restrictions to better protect children. The organisation pointed out that nicotine is addictive and can damage brain development in young people.

Graph showing consumption of addictive substances by schoolchildren
swissinfo.ch

In most cases, marginally fewer 15-year-olds said they had tried addictive substances compared to the previous survey in 2014.

In 2018, 10% of boys and 8% of girls said they smoked conventional cigarettes at least once a week. In 2014 the respective figures were 12% and 9%.

Some 11% of boys and 4% of girls drank alcohol at least once a week (10% and 6% in 2014).

The survey also found that 27% of boys and 17% of girls had used illegal cannabis at least once in their lives (30% and 19% in 2014). The figures for trying CBD (cannabidiol) products were 9% and 5% for boys and girls.

The survey was part of an international “Health Behaviour in School-aged ChildrenExternal link” (HBSC) study carried out under the auspices of the World Health OrganizationExternal link, and was financed in Switzerland by the Federal Office of Public HealthExternal link and cantons. It is the ninth time the HSBC study has been conducted in Switzerland.

 


More
kiosk with cigarettes

More

Tobacco law draft targets under 18s

This content was published on Young people will not be allowed to buy cigarettes under a draft law put forward by the government. But critics say what about tobacco advertising?

Read more: Tobacco law draft targets under 18s


Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Beer sales dampened by bad weather

More

Beer sales in Switzerland watered down by bad weather

This content was published on The past brewing year fell through in Switzerland, partly due to the bad weather. Beer sales shrank again. For the first time, per capita consumption fell below the 50 liter mark.

Read more: Beer sales in Switzerland watered down by bad weather

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR