Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Experts warn of rising nicotine consumption among Swiss teenagers

young woman smoking e-cigarette
E-cigarettes have been growing in popularity especially among young women, warn prevention experts. © Keystone / Melanie Duchene

An anti-addiction organisation has expressed concern about an increase in the consumption of nicotine by teenagers in Switzerland.

Addiction Switzerland said a survey conducted last year showed one in three 15-year-olds used tobacco or other nicotine products within the previous month.

The strongest increase was recorded last year for e-cigarettes, particularly among girls, compared to a poll carried out in 2018, the organisation said on Monday.

About 8% of the girls surveyed regularly smoked e-cigarettes, while 6% said they smoked conventional cigarettes; the percentage among boys for both categories was 7%.

The survey also found that 4% of 15-year-olds have already tried a medical drug at least once to get high. This is similar to the figure reported four years earlier; the proportion is higher among girls.

Medicines and alcohol

About 5% of 15-year-old boys and 9% of girls of the same age have mixed medicines with alcohol at least once in their lives. Health prevention experts have warned about the dangers of such activities.

Meanwhile, alcohol or (illegal) cannabis consumption among teenagers remained more or less at the same level as in 2018.

The poll carried out in 2022 among about 9,300 pupils aged 11 to 15 across Switzerland was funded by the Federal Office of Public Health and the cantonal authorities.

Addiction Switzerland has published similar surveys every four years since 1986.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

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