Smoking continues to lose its appeal

Price increases make cigarette purchases a painful choice Keystone

Cigarette sales in Switzerland in 2007 plunged to their lowest level in 40 years, with smokers purchasing 625 million packets, a drop of almost five per cent over 12 months.

While specialists says that the decrease is probably due to price increases, bans on smoking in public places and prevention campaigns, the World Health Organization (WHO) says the Swiss could do far more to fight tobacco use.

There is no precise figure for cigarette sales 40 years ago, but estimates put the number somewhere between 15 and 16 billion, or approximately 750 to 800 million packets according to the Federal Customs Office.

It was only in 1999 that sales dropped below the 750-million mark, says Stefan Schmidt, head of tobacco and beer taxation at the customs office.

Over the past ten years, sales have fallen around 17 per cent. Regular price increases have however meant that tax revenue has grown by more than half: if a packet was worth SFr4.10 ($3.70) in 1997, last year it cost SFr6.40.

The tax on cigarettes was last increased in 2007, with SFr0.30 hike. But this is just one reason why sales have slowed according to the customs office. It says that smoking bans in restaurants in some cantons and prevention campaigns are also having an effect.

The finance ministry, which oversees the customs services, is still evaluating the health and the tax revenue impact of the last price hike.

Price impact

In 2005, sales fell ten per cent after prices increased by SFr0.50. “Price increases are good preventive measure when it comes to young people,” said Karine Begey of the Federal Health Office.

According to the health office’s own statistics, the number of teenage smokers fell from 31 per cent to 25 per cent between 2001 and 2006.

There is no doubt in health specialists’ minds that price increases an efficient way of helping people stop smoking. “A ten per cent price hike means that there are five per cent fewer smokers,” said earlier this month the head of the health office, Thomas Zeltner.

A new request to further increase cigarette prices should land on the finance minister’s desk in the near future and a government decision is expected after the summer at the latest.

Smokers who roll their own will also be asked to fork out more to satisfy their vice. The government wants to increase the tax on fine-cut tobacco five-fold, taking it from SFr10 to SFr50 per kilogramme, while the levy on cigarette paper would be dropped.

The reasoning is traditional cigarette smokers are inclined to start rolling their own if prices keep on increasing, defeating the purpose of the tax hike.

Do more

Switzerland can certainly do more to fight tobacco use. Although only 20.7 per cent of the population smokes – a much better result than many European countries – the WHO says the Swiss do little to apply its recommendations.

There is no national legislation banning smoking from public places, and advertising is only banned on radio and television. The WHO reckons though that it is one the tax front that the Swiss have to act.

In Switzerland, taxes represent 55 per cent of the price of a packet, whereas the WHO believes that this figure should be around 75 per cent to have a dissuasive effect on consumers.

The Swiss do plan to increase the size of warning labels on packs as well as measures to help treat nicotine addiction. However Switzerland has yet to ratify the WHO’s anti-tobacco convention, which has been signed by 150 countries.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

Each year in Switzerland:
8,300 people die of tobacco-related illnesses.
16,000 people are diagnosed with tobacco-related illnesses.
Smoking costs Swiss society SFr10 billion.
Four million work days are lost because of tobacco-related illnesses.

Smoking bans

Smoking bans are slowly become a fact of life in Switzerland.

After cantons Ticino and Solothurn, Graubünden and Appenzell Outer Rhodes accepted in November to ban smoking from public places. Restaurant and café owners will be able though to set aside closed smoking areas.

Ticino outlawed tobacco use last April. solothurn will follow suit next year.

Geneva will vote on the issue this year, while projects are being drawn up in other cantons (Aargau, Bern, St Gallen, Valais, Zug)

Federal anti-tobacco legislation is currently being discussed in parliament.