Switzerland ranks as second-worst European country for tobacco prevention

Switzerland has placed second-to-last in Europe in a new ranking examining how much countries protect residents from tobacco and nicotine products.

Switzerland ranks 36th out of 37 for tobacco laws

Switzerland has scraped in at 36th place out of a total of 37 in the Tobacco Control Scale (TCS) 2025. Only Bosnia and Herzegovina beat the alpine nation to the bottom of the ranking.

Several policies in Switzerland contribute to the country’s low ranking. While advertising tobacco products is banned in public spaces where minors can see it (such as on public transport or on TV), there is a “tremendous loophole” in the law that companies use to advertise on private property, such as at events and in venues, according to the TCS.

Furthermore, Switzerland is the sole country in the report that has not yet ratified the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), and is therefore “unlikely to improve its ranking anytime soon”.

Switzerland has a long way to go

Markus Meury, media spokesperson at Addiction Switzerland, explains that another major problem is that young people can easily access nicotine products, which are “quite cheap in Switzerland”, reports SRF. 

Furthermore, Wolfgang Kweital from the Swiss Tobacco Prevention Association described current policies as “a disgrace”, especially as young users have turned to products like vapes and nicotine pouches inserted under the lip.

Many large international tobacco companies are headquartered in Switzerland, including Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco International, which can often create “significant entanglements with politics and science”, continued SRF. 

The country has, however, seen tobacco laws tighten in recent years. Advertising is getting stricter, health warning labels are becoming more obvious and some cantons have introduced a ban on e-cigarette sales.

Ireland takes top spot in Europe for tobacco prevention

The Tobacco Control Scale (TCS) 2025 is a report that compares tobacco control policies across 37 European countries. The TCS surveys countries based on six policies:

• Bans/restrictions on smoking in public and at work
• Consumer information, such as public information campaigns, media coverage, and publicising research 
• Bans on advertising and promotion of tobacco products, logos and brands
• Health warning labels on tobacco products
• Treatment to help smokers stop

Ireland claims top spot as the country doing the most to prevent tobacco use, followed by the UK and the Netherlands in second and third place, respectively.

The Netherlands was also named as a country that significantly increased its score since 2021, along with Slovenia, Belgium and Portugal. 

Best and worst countries in Europe for tobacco policies

In all, these were the best countries in Europe for tobacco control (out of a total score of 100):

• 1. Ireland (80)
• 2. the UK (78)
• 3. The Netherlands (76)
• 4. France (73)
• 5. Norway (66)
• 6. Finland (65)
• 7. Belgium (64)
• 8. Hungary (62)
• 9. Slovenia (62)
• 10. Spain (54)

The countries that ranked the lowest were:

• 30. Cyprus (42)
• 31. Czechia (40)
• = 32. Bulgaria (37)
• = 32. Bulgaria (37)
• = 34. Serbia (36)
• = 34. Romania (36)
• 36. Switzerland (33)
• 37. Bosnia & Herzegovina (20)

Read the full report on the TCS website here.