{"id":56032,"date":"2022-10-20T04:54:31","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T02:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/?p=56032"},"modified":"2025-08-09T22:54:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T20:54:08","slug":"tobacco-advertising-ban-switzerland-2024-disregard-of-the-will-of-the-people-and-the-legislator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/tabakwerbeverbot-schweiz-2024-missachtung-von-volkswillen-und-gesetzgeber\/","title":{"rendered":"Tobacco advertising ban in Switzerland 2024: disregard for the will of the people and the legislator."},"content":{"rendered":"

Tobacco advertising ban in Switzerland from 2024: The first draft law on the tobacco advertising ban has been online since 31\/08\/2022 (see link below under Resources on the topic). The first consultation on the law gives rise to fears of the worst. It is a disregard for the will of the people and the legislator. This draft law is even more blatant than the initiators wanted. It goes far beyond that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addendum from 14.12.2022:<\/strong> I spoke to a politician and my media lawyer about this. Both currently assume that the draft law cannot be implemented as it stands. My media lawyer also told me that a new data protection law will come into force in Switzerland on 1 September 2023. This law contradicts the tobacco advertising ban on several points. The tobacco advertising ban stipulates that users must identify themselves with an ID card in order to access tobacco content on the Internet (e.g. online shops and Cigars.zone). However, it is not regulated how this is to be done. For data protection reasons, a central point would have to be set up where users can register; their identity card would be stored there electronically. And with the code, users can log on to the websites to view the content. However, the tobacco advertising ban assumes that you have to submit your identity card to every tobacco website (e.g. electronically); but this is a \u201ehorror scenario\u201c for every user, because it is unclear how website operators can protect this data from being accessed at all under the new data protection law. Incredibly exciting. Let us be surprised...<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From here you can read the original text:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disregard for the will of the people and the legislator<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What does the ban on tobacco advertising mean? The goal is a 100% smoke-free society. \u201eRegardless of the product, our general aim is to establish non-smoking as the norm.\u201c This is what a Swiss institution, which does not wish to be named, wrote to me by email on 23 March 2022. Mechanisms are being put in place to make access to a legal product ever more difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quotes from the newsletter of 19.10.22 from Centre Patronal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quote 1:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

According to the Federal Council's preliminary draft, advertising on the internet and in all other electronic media is to be banned even if suitable measures are taken to ensure that the advertising can only be viewed by adults. The Federal Council is thus creating a highly problematic precedent that could also be introduced for other consumer goods at a later date. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quote 2:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the Federal Council's behaviour is contradictory. In the explanatory report on the consultation, it claims that a total ban is necessary because there are no suitable measures in place to ensure that adverts in online newspapers and magazines or other digital services can only be viewed by adults. However, the same Federal Council also stated on 31 August that \u201creliable age verification systems for online commerce exist and are used\". <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the new federal law on the protection of minors in the areas of film and video games also makes making films and video games available on the internet dependent on an age check. What applies to online trading and the making available of films and video games must also apply explicitly to online advertising. The ban on online advertising in the preliminary draft therefore violates both legal equality and the ban on discrimination.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Newsletter from 19.10.22<\/a> from Centre Patronal<\/a>. Please read the newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First consultation and then what?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The consultations are public. Anyone in Switzerland can comment on them. An MS Word document is available on the Internet for completion. The deadline for responses is 30 November 2022, after which the responses will be evaluated. Depending on the topic and number of responses, this will take several months. In the course of 2023, the law will be discussed in the various political bodies and institutions and adjustments will be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The links to the draft law and all other documents can be found below under Resources on the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tobacco advertising ban: logging in only with proof of identity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the case of Zigarren.Zone, this could mean that readers only have access to the content if they are over 18 and can prove their identity. Swiss ID, for example, offers such services. However, Zigarren.Zone would still be readable from abroad without proof of identity. In this case, the technical requirements must be installed on the website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also currently unclear whether product sliders or product banners in online cigar shops are considered advertising or not. According to the draft law, yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cigar articles at Zigarren.Zone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All contributions to Zigarren.Zone are not regarded as advertising, but as a free expression of opinion (text, photo and video contributions), regardless of whether a fee has been paid (and I am not afraid to criticise). Many cigar brands are represented on the website, so it is seen as a kind of \u201ecomparison portal\u201c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I test cigars, rate them and explain how they taste to me. Zigarren.Zone is financed by banner advertising on the website, adverts in the online magazine FlashCigar and the production of videos about cigars. It is not yet clear what this will look like from 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FlashCigar will only be sent to members of Cigars.Zone Plus from 2022 and will no longer be public. After the article you will find a registration form for Zigarren.Zone Plus. The tobacco advertising ban will cost me a lot of \u201erebuilding\u201c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geo-targeting due to tobacco advertising ban?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is currently even a debate as to whether foreign internet media on the subject of \u201etobacco\u201c can still be viewed in Switzerland at all from 2024. If the law is implemented in this drastic form, geo-targeting will be used. This means that tobacco websites from abroad can no longer be seen in Switzerland because they contain tobacco advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This would mean that the websites of Cigar Journal and Cigar Aficionado, for example, could no longer be read in Switzerland. My personal opinion on this: China and Russia use such geo-targeting measures; for Switzerland, such an approach in the tobacco sector would be a blatant step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Tobacco
Hello, I'm Vasilij Ratej, owner of Zigarren.Zone. Nice to have you here and thank you for your interest in this post. I wish you HAPPY SMOKE! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Resources on the topic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

>> All consultations<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tobacco advertising ban: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> Consultation draft<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> Explanatory report<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> Cover letter-2<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> Cover letter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> List of addressees<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> Response form, deadline until 30.11.2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> We recommend the Newsletter from 19.10.22<\/a> from Centre Patronal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tobacco advertising ban in Switzerland from 2024: The first draft law on the tobacco advertising ban has been online since 31\/08\/2022 (see link below under Resources on the topic). The first consultation on the law...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[662],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marktplatz",""],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Tabakwerbeverbot-2024.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zigarren.zone\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}