Level of use

  • At 15 years of age, more than one smoker in six smokes more than half a pack of cigarettes per day.
  • Key fact A2-7: On average, smokers ages 16 to 25 – occasional and daily smokers combined – smoke over half a pack of cigarettes per day: 12.4 cigarettes for men and 10.1 cigarettes for women per day.
  • Key fact A2-8: Over a third (28.8%) of daily smokers ages 15 to 25 are heavy smokers (smoking at least 20 cigarettes or a pack per day).

At an individual level, another essential element in smoking behaviour, and of the consequences that can be associated with it, has to do with the intensity of use. This can be seen as a combination of two distinct dimensions, one being temporal (e.g. number of years of smoking), the other quantitative (e.g. number of cigarettes smokes). The level of consumption, which is thus directly correlated with the risk of health problems caused by smoking,[1] is therefore another key indicator in the epidemiological description of tobacco use (on this subject, see also our page Health Risks).

Number of cigarettes smoked by daily smokers at the age of 15

According to the 2018 HBSC study, at the age of 15 more than one daily smoker out of six was smoking more than half a pack per day, around a third between six and 10 cigarettes, and over half up to five cigarettes (Delgrande et al., 2019a[2]). As a reminder, the proportion of daily smokers at this age was 5.6% for boys and 3.5% for girls. Estimated on the basis of a limited number of respondents, the proportions relating to the number of cigarettes smoked per day must be interpreted cautiously.

Average number of cigarettes smoked by smokers ages 15 to 25

The Rapport national sur la santé 2020, entitled La santé en Suisse – Enfants, adolescents et jeunes adultes, yields data relating to the average level of consumption of smokers – daily and occasional smokers taken together – ages 16 to 25 (Observatoire Suisse de la santé, 2020[3]). Calculated based on the 2017 data from the Enquête Suisse sur la santé, these estimations show an average consumption of 12.4 cigarettes per day for young men and 10.1 cigarettes per day for young women.

The level of tobacco consumption for young smokers has also been analysed in the Monitorage Suisse des addictions (Kuendig et al., 2017[4]). In 2016, the number of cigarettes smoked each day by daily smokers was 10.4 cigarettes for 15 to 17-year-olds, 11.0 cigarettes for 18 to 19-year-olds, 12.3 cigarettes for 20 to 21-year-olds, 14.4 cigarettes for 22 to 23-year-olds, and 15.1 cigarettes for 24 to 25-year-olds (Figure A2A-5).

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Figure A2A-5 – Average number of cigarettes smoked per day by daily smokers ages 15 to 25 (cigarette smokers only), total, according to sex and age, CoRolAR 2016 (Kuendig et al., 2017[5]).

As a reminder, of the total group of daily smokers ages 15 and up, the average number of cigarettes smoked was 13.6 per day (Gmel et al., 2017[6]). It should be noted that for the entire group of 15- to 25- year-olds, the average consumption was 13.3 cigarettes per day, the men smoking significantly more – 15.5 cigarettes daily – than the women – 9.3 cigarettes daily (Figure A2A-5).

Proportion of heavy smokers among daily smokers 15 to 25 years old

The Monitorage Suisse des addictions also documented, in its most recent report focusing on smoking among 15 to 25-year-olds (data collected in 2016), the distribution of cigarette consumption of daily smokers in regard to level of daily use (Kuendig et al., 2017[7]). This showed that 28.8% of daily smokers in this age group were smoking an average of 20 or more cigarettes (a pack or more) per day. Among the subgroups of population the most affected by these levels of smoking were men (41.2%), smokers 22 to 23 years old (38.7%), and those 24 to 25 years old (32.%), as well as German-speaking (32.2%) and Italian-speaking (31.5%) Swiss smokers.

[1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2014). The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. Download.

[2] Delgrande Jordan, Marina ; Schneider, Eva ; Eichenberger, Yvonne ; Kretschmann, Andrea. (2019a). La consommation de substances psychoactives des 11 à 15 ans en Suisse - Situation en 2018 et évolutions depuis 1986 - Résultats de l'étude Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) (Rapport de recherche No 100). Lausanne: Addiction Suisse. Download.

[3] Observatoire Suisse de la santé (2020). La santé en Suisse – Enfants, adolescents et jeunes adultes. Rapport national sur la santé 2020. Bern: Hogrefe Verlag. Download.

[4] Kuendig, Hervé; Notari, Luca; Gmel, Gerhard (2017). Le tabagisme chez les 15 à 25 ans en 2016 - Analyse des données du Monitorage suisse des addictions. Lausanne : Addiction Suisse. Download.

[5] Kuendig, Hervé; Notari, Luca; Gmel, Gerhard (2017). Le tabagisme chez les 15 à 25 ans en 2016 - Analyse des données du Monitorage suisse des addictions. Lausanne : Addiction Suisse. Download.

[6] Gmel, Gerhard ; Kuendig, Hervé ; Notari, Luca (2017) : Monitorage suisse des addictions Consommation d’alcool, de tabac et de drogues illégales en Suisse en 2016. Sucht Schweiz. Lausanne. Download.

[7] Kuendig, Hervé; Notari, Luca; Gmel, Gerhard (2017). Le tabagisme chez les 15 à 25 ans en 2016 - Analyse des données du Monitorage suisse des addictions. Lausanne : Addiction Suisse. Download.

AT Switzerland, September 2022

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