Cigarettes sold to teens despite ban, tests reveal

Only one in five children under the age of 18 are refused cigarettes by shops in Vaud and Fribourg, despite a ban on selling tobacco products to the under-aged, a new study shows.

Tests carried out at 700 sales points in Vaud and Fribourg in October 2009 showed that four out of five under-aged teens were able to purchase cigarettes illegally.

The survey was directed by Cipret, the Information centre for the prevention of tobacco addiction and Addiction info Suisse, two watchdog organizations that are monitoring the situation.

"There is little improvement since our last survey in 2007," said Myriam Pasche of Cipret-Vaud.

The information was obtained during tests when the teens were asked to "buy" cigarettes from the various shops.

Although chain stores and supermarkets scored better than other points of purchase, more than one in two still sell cigarettes to under-aged teenagers, Pasche indicated.

But the worst offenders are independent retailers and smaller shops, where virtually all of them - 98 percent – failed to apply the law.

"They tend to defend the position that if they don’t sell the cigarettes, their neighbours will," Pasche said.

The study found that only a quarter of the stores requested an ID.

For most merchants, requesting such documentation “goes against our local culture,” Pasche said.

"Whereas in the United States, teenagers are used to being asked their ID’s, this is simply not the case in Switzerland."

Furthermore, Pasche pointed out, ID’s are no guarantee, since in several cases saled still went through despite buyers being under-aged.

"The ban has not been sufficiently reinforced and the fines are not dissuasive enough," said Jean-Claude Mermoud, the Vaud economy minister.

Although the law stipulates fines of up to 20,000 francs (50,000 francs for second offences), they rarely exceed 150 to 300 francs.

"We intend to tighten the law and increase the number of controls," Mermoud said.

Vaud, the biggest producer of tobacco products in Switzerland and home to two of the largest multinationals in the field, was the first canton to pass a law in 2006 restricting the sale of cigarettes to under-18 year-olds.

Six other cantons followed.

The 10 other cantons that have now passed legislation, including Fribourg, have set the age limit at 16 (see federal recap).

Additional laws restricting the access to unsupervised cigarette vending machines by under-aged people have been passed in the same 17 cantons.

However, nine cantons, including Geneva and Neuchâtel, still do not have legislation in this area, although four are in the process of pushing laws through.

"We have other priorities," said Corinne Wahl of Cipret-Geneva in reference to the recently passed law against smoking in enclosed public places, including bars and restaurants, which Cipret is monitoring to see that it is properly enforced.

"Besides, the (underage) ban is very difficult to reinforce as Vaud and Fribourg have found out."

Michel Graf, director of Addiction info Suisse, conceded that “the results of the test purchases are entirely unsatisfactory.”

The ban to sell tobacco products to children and teenagers, Graf said, "is an important measure to prevent or delay consumption."

According to a recent World Health Organization report, tobacco is a global paediatric concern since every day an estimated 82,000 to 99,000 young people start smoking; many are children under the age of 10.

Myriam Pasche said the sale ban is only one of several measures that must be put in place: “Otherwise it just comes across as an alibi measure to give adults good conscious.”

The law against passive smoke is the most important step forward, she believes, since it sends the message to the young that for once, adults are leading by example.

Banning publicity and increasing the price of tobacco products are also important measures, she said.

"But let’s not kid ourselves: the problems will not disappear with a sweep of the magic wand," Pasche said.

Marc Tille, who works for the Vaud economy department as head of the service that regulates commercial activities, noted that the law that governs the sale of tobacco products dates back to 1882.

Anyone can sell tobacco as long as they pay the taxes.

"The law was parachuted into our department, when in fact the issue is one of public health," he said.

"The fines, in the event of contravention, are issued not by our inspectors, but by the department of interior.” Hence the amounts that are rarely dissuasive.

Tille is convinced that the way forward is to issue specific authorizations to sell tobacco, as is already the case for alcohol.

“It would be like a driving license” he said. “Obey the rules, or risk losing the license."

In the meantime, flyers reminding merchants of the bans against selling  cigarettes to minors are being distributed by Cipret.