Doctors mobilize against tobacco advertising and sponsorship
Nine medical associations, along with the Federation of Swiss Physicians (FMH), jointly issued a call on Friday to members of Parliament for an effective tobacco products law.
The Council of States Committee for Social Security and Health (SGK-S) will be discussing the new Tobacco Products Act (TabPG) next week. This law represents a unique opportunity to prevent young people from becoming smokers - by restricting the marketing of tobacco products. The medical associations are working together to ensure that Parliament does not miss this opportunity.
With their appeal (PDF), they are calling on the Swiss parliament to pass a law that "limits tobacco to what it should be: a product that is highly hazardous to health", which should not be advertised and whose trade should be subject to international regulations. "So that your children do not become our patients!" This slogan, launched in Bern, reminds doctors that they treat patients suffering from tobacco-related illnesses and restrictions on a daily basis.
It is no coincidence that tobacco advertising is aimed at young people, according to a press release: six out of ten people are still minors when they start smoking. Anyone who starts smoking before the age of 20 has a significantly increased risk of becoming addicted to tobacco. The presidents of the participating professional associations and the FMH are therefore calling on the Swiss parliament to assume its responsibility for young people by agreeing to a comprehensive ban on advertising and promotion of tobacco products.
