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 […]
Switzerland set to ban 15 pesticides
Switzerland’s Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) plans to look at the regulations on 15 pesticides containing the chemical chlorothalonil, an ingredient used since the 70s to protect fruit and cereal crops from disease. Environmental groups will be given a chance to comment on the review, said FOAG. Tests in parts of Switzerland have revealed high […]
Switzerland to get new realtime pollen meters
The number of people in Switzerland suffering from pollen allergies has risen dramatically. Today, around 20% of the population has an allergic reaction to pollen. Epidemiological studies across the world show that allergies in general have tripled over the last 30 years, according to the CHUV hospital in Lausanne. Pollen allergies are an immune system […]
Drivers asked to stay out of cars as ozone pollution climbs
As ozone levels surpass healthy limits across the country, the authorities are urging residents to stay out of their cars and off their motorcycles. The governments of Geneva and Vaud both issued statements calling on residents not to drive in a bid to combat ozone pollution. A sharp rise in ozone, a pollutant that can […]
Swiss government aims to loosen marijuana laws
Switzerland’s government is aiming to make it easier to access medical marijuana, which is used by those suffering from cancer or other serious medical conditions. The proposed rules would make it possible for doctors to directly prescribe cannabis as part of their treatment, said the Federal Council in a statement. Currently, patients have to apply […]
Government rejects vote to ban synthetic pesticides in Switzerland
In February 2019, an initiative to ban the use of synthetic pesticides in Switzerland collected enough signatures to run a referendum entitled: For a Switzerland free of synthetic pesticides. The initiative would ban the use of all synthetic pesticides in Swiss agriculture and the importation of food or animal feed used commercially that is produced […]
Swiss government approves further GM crop trials
Last week, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) gave a green light to trials of genetically modified (GM) barley in Switzerland. Permission was given to the University of Zurich to plant GM barley at a controlled site in the canton of Zurich. The barley has been modified to resist fungal diseases. The experiment aims […]
Switzerland 5th most skeptical of vaccine safety
A recently published survey by the Wellcome Trust, which surveyed people around the world on their vaccination beliefs, found that 22% of those surveyed in Switzerland strongly or somewhat disagreed that vaccines are safe. Only France (33%), Gabon (26%), Togo (25%) and Russia (24%) had higher percentages of people strongly or somewhat disagreeing that vaccines […]
Swiss health insurance deductibles to remain changeable annually
One idea for containing rising healthcare costs was to remove the possibility of changing health insurance deductibles every year, making it possible only every three years. If people are able to switch from high to low deductibles annually then they can save money by opting for a high deductible one year, while postponing visits to […]
Nursery group refuses unvaccinated children in Switzerland
The nursery group Bubble Bees, present in five locations in Switzerland, will now only accept children that have been vaccinated for measles and whooping cough, according the newspapers Sonntagszeitung and 20 Minutes. The CHF 2,635-a-month nursery chain has nurseries in Zurich, Lenzburg, Schaffhausen, Frauenfeld and St. Gallen. Switzerland has recently seen a sharp rise in […]
