Rollout of the next generation of mobile technology, known as 5G, has met with resistance in Switzerland. Last week, a demonstration in Bern, organized by Frequencia against the rollout, attracted thousands, according to RTS. Frequencia claims more than 3,000 people attended the protest. Switzerland is one of the first countries to rollout the new technology, […]
Occasional daytime naps may cut risk of heart attack, according to Swiss study
Research done in Switzerland suggests an occasional daytime nap could dramatically reduce the risk of a heart attack. The study, conducted by Nadine Häusler of the Department of Medicine at the University Hospital of Lausanne, followed 3,462 people in Lausanne aged from 35 to 75 for 5 years, according to the American Journal of Managed Care […]
Swiss upper house votes to further restrict tobacco advertising
Switzerland is one of a small number of countries that has not ratified the World Health Organisation (WHO) ban on tobacco advertising known as FCTC. Currently, Switzerland only bans tobacco advertising on television and radio. The WHO ban goes much further. 181 countries have already ratified the WHO ban. Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein are the […]
No rise in average health premiums in 10 Swiss cantons in 2020
Every year, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) gives advance warning of compulsory health insurance premiums for the coming year. After years of rising premiums, many will be relieved by the small projected increases for 2020. Across all of Switzerland, the average premium is expected to rise 0.2% to CHF 315.40 a month. On […]
Nearly 8% of Switzerland’s population has suicidal thoughts
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 […]
