Swiss want to ban tobacco advertising at kiosks

A majority of the Swiss population is of the opinion that tobacco advertising trivializes the dangers of smoking. It also encourages young people to take up smoking. As the tobacco monitoring carried out by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) shows, the majority of Swiss people are in favor of only allowing tobacco advertising at kiosks. In the first quarter of 2006, the Link Institute surveyed 2,500 people in German-speaking Switzerland, French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino as part of its tobacco monitoring program. The results show that smoking bans, such as those already in force in Sweden and Ireland as well as in the canton of Ticino, will probably soon have an effect throughout Switzerland. According to the survey, 80 percent of respondents are in favor of smoke-free workplaces, reports the SDA news agency. 64 percent of the Swiss population are also in favor of a smoking ban in bars and restaurants.