At what age is vaping legal in Switzerland? 🔞

The new Tobacco Products Act imposes an age limit on the sale of e-cigarettes in Switzerland. Find out from our guide what age vaping is permitted in Switzerland.

• Vapes may only be sold to persons over 18 years of age
• The age limit also applies to nicotine-free e-cigarettes
• The selling age for all other products covered by the Tobacco Products Act is also 18 years.

Vaping in Switzerland: From 18 years

From October 1, 2024, vapes in Switzerland will only be allowed to be sold to persons over the age of 18. Finally, the new law closes a major loophole that has caused significant damage to the vape industry and the image of e-cigarettes. It's obvious that no one wants minors to be able to freely purchase nicotine-containing products.

At what age can you buy vapes without nicotine?

The law makes no distinction between nicotine-containing and nicotine-free vapes. Even vapes without nicotine may only be purchased in Switzerland by persons over 18 years of age.

Background of the age restriction on vapes

Before the introduction of the new Tobacco Products Act, conditions in Switzerland were almost like the Wild West. Since e-cigarettes were subject to food law, there were no binding laws regulating sales to minors. Even though most vape shops voluntarily conducted age checks, minors could, in principle, purchase vapes and e-cigarettes. The new E-Cigarette Act has been in effect since October 1, 2023, and retailers are required to ensure that no products are sold to minors. The new regulation applies to all sales outlets across all cantons.

Conclusion: The new age limit can be expanded

The new e-cigarette law stipulates that sellers must ensure that no vape products are sold to minors. However, it does not specify how age verification should be carried out. Offline sales outlets simply check the buyer's ID card if they suspect that they are a minor. This works well and has proven effective in everyday life. For online shops, it is considerably more complicated. While there are tools that reliably verify age, they are very cumbersome for the user and require a scan of the ID and, in some cases, a facial scan. If Shop A introduces extensive age verification with a scan and Shop B simply requests the date of birth, Shop A will be at a massive competitive disadvantage. Anything even slightly complicated will cause customers to abandon the purchase process. How can this problem be solved? With uniform federal regulations that apply equally to all online shops.