Among 15 to 24-year-olds, monthly smoking dropped from 17.7 per cent to 13.5 per cent, according to Jean-François Etter’s analysis of the Swiss Health and Lifestyle Survey.
That represents a fall of 4.2 percentage points, or a relative reduction of almost 24 per cent over two years.
The figures cover teenagers and young adults, rather than children alone. They measure smoking at least monthly, including daily use.
Smoking falls as vaping stays stable
Etter’s analysis found monthly vaping among 15 to 24-year-olds remained at around nine per cent. Nicotine pouch use was also broadly stable at three per cent, while snus use fell from five per cent to three per cent.
These figures are quite reassuring
Among adults older than 24, use of the different tobacco and nicotine products changed little.
“These figures are quite reassuring”, Etter wrote, pointing to declining use of combustible products, which carry the greatest health risks.
The Health and Lifestyle Survey is conducted by Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health and Tobacco Prevention Fund, in collaboration with the Federal Statistical Office. It included approximately 6,000 respondents in 2023 and 5,800 in 2025 across the population aged 15 and over. Detailed 2025 tables were published on 22 September 2026.
Fewer young people smoking
Etter argues that the findings don’t support predictions that newer nicotine products would drive an increase in youth smoking. Smoking fell while monthly vaping remained broadly stable.
The figures can’t establish what caused the decline or track individual smokers switching products. They do, however, show that fewer young people were smoking during a period when vapes and nicotine pouches remained available.
Why the type of product makes a difference
The health implications depend partly on how nicotine is consumed. Burning tobacco produces the toxic smoke responsible for much of the harm from cigarettes.
The NHS’s current guidance explains that vaping exposes users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking. Most harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke, including tar and carbon monoxide, are absent from vape aerosol.
It also stresses that vaping isn’t harmless and that young people and non-smokers shouldnot start. For adults who smoke, switching completely offers the greatest benefit.
That distinction is key when interpreting the Swiss findings. Tracking smoking separately from other nicotine use makes it possible to see whether fewer young people are using the products that cause the most harm, even while questions remain about what is driving the change.
Separate research supports vaping’s role in helping smokers quit. An updated Cochrane review published in August 2026 found high-certainty evidence that nicotine vapes help more people stop smoking for at least six months than nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches and gum.