Suicide prevention is a global challenge. Globally, around 800,000 people take their lives every year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). In 2016, not counting assisted suicides, around 1,000 people in Switzerland took their own lives, a rate of 12 per 100,000, a rate comparable to the average across Europe. To understand suicide better, […]
Tobacco use costs Switzerland 5 billion francs a year
Health care in Switzerland is funded by a mixture of taxes and health insurance premiums. Much of the insurance premiums paid are compulsory with no discounts offered to non-smokers. According to figures recently published by the Swiss association for smoking, the annual direct medical costs of smoking are CHF 3 billion (2015), or CHF 350 […]
E-cigarettes to be taxed in Switzerland
Switzerland’s Federal council supports advice from a public health commission to tax e-cigarettes, according to Le Matin. The plan to tax e-cigarettes forms part of an update to Switzerland’s tobacco laws, which are to be extended to include other products containing nicotine. In addition, the proposed rules will ban e-cigarette use in non-smoking areas and […]
Switzerland’s regional exercise differences
More people in Switzerland are exercising for 2.5 hours a week, a level recommended by Swiss sports organisations. In 2002, 63% of the population across all of Switzerland was getting this amount of exercise. In 2017, 76% of the population spent this much time exercising, according to a study by the Federal Statistical Office that […]
Swiss research leads to cancer break through
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute recently deciphered the structure of the CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7), a signaling protein. Cancer cells use CCR7 to guide themselves into the lymphatic system, spreading cancer throughout the body. The resulting secondary tumors, called metastases, are responsible for most cancer deaths. This new understanding of CCR7 is a […]
Swiss government approves measures to cut healthcare costs
Swiss healthcare is expensive and most of it is paid directly by individuals (69%). Only the US has a more expensive healthcare system, according to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office. The political pressure on Switzerland’s government to address the problem has been intensifying for some time. This week, the federal government announced nine measures to cut […]
Swiss health insurers to send patients to pharmacy first
Swiss healthcare is typically ranked the world’s second most expensive, as a percentage of GDP, after the US. In Switzerland, compulsory health insurance premiums cover 37% of healthcare costs. Much of the rest is covered by tax payers and non-reimbursable out-of-pocket payments by individuals. As part of a plan to reduce costs, this week, the […]
Excessive nitrate levels found in Swiss ground water
A recent study found excessive levels of nitrates in 15% to 20% of underground water samples in Switzerland, according to the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). Underground water is the source of most of Switzerland’s (80%) drinking water. The data was collected at 600 water testing sites between 2007 and 2017. In 2014, 15% […]
Sharp rise in stand up paddle accidents in Switzerland
Last year, there were around 500 recorded stand up paddle injuries in Switzerland according to the insurer SUVA, one of Switzerland’s largest accident insurers. Since 2015, the number of injuries has more than doubled. Most accidents result in leg and foot injuries (47%), followed by injuries to hands and fingers (25%), the waist and behind […]
Drug addicts entitled to disability welfare, rules Switzerland’s highest court
Until recently, Swiss case law placed the responsibility for drug addiction on the drug user. Drug addicts only qualified for disability welfare if their addiction was connected with an illness or accident. A recent ruling on a case by the Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s highest court, changes this. The case involved a man in Zurich dependent […]
