Elements of the Tobacco Monitoring Switzerland

The individual elements of the research system are described here. The system consists of a basic module and various add-on modules.

In the basic module, key data on tobacco consumption were collected four times per year (2,500 interviews per quarter). The survey population is all persons residing in Switzerland aged 14-65.

top

The basic module can be complemented by add-on modules containing further questions, either for one survey wave only or repeated in the survey waves periodically. Up to December 2010, add-on modules contained questions on the following topics: 

• Perception of campaigns of the FOPH (e.g. TV spot: “Rauchen schadet.._” [Smoking is harmful...]), the public’s knowledge about the harmful effects of tobacco use, and attitudes towards protection of non-smokers
  
  
• Passive smoking: place and duration of exposure to secondhand smoke; perceived annoyance with secondhand smoke at various places; knowledge of the harmfulness of secondhand smoke; acceptance of ban on smoking
  
  
• Young people: reasons for and against smoking; consumption habits among peers;   cannabis consumption; leisure activities
  
  
• Smoking counseling by doctors and dentists in private practice and at pharmacies: Addressing smoking habits; recommending smoking cessation; offering smoking cessation support
  
  
• Harm reduction / reduction of cigarette consumption: Change to a cigarette brand having a higher or lower nicotine or tar content; change in amount consumed after unsuccessful attempt to quit; intention to cut down amount
  
  
• Policies / laws: Attitudes towards tobacco advertising, extensive restrictions on advertising, prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to minors, and raising the price of cigarettes
  
  
• Perception of the actors Federal Office of Public Health and tobacco industry: perception of information on the health dangers of tobacco consumption; image comparison of the two actors; opinions concerning their activities
  
  

In the first survey wave, as a baseline measurement for the campaign, “Smoking is harmful.._,” all target persons were asked questions on their perceptions of campaigns about the harmfulness of smoking. Starting with the second survey wave, they were asked specifically about their perceptions of the TV spots and also what they remembered of the campaign contents. In addition, the participants were asked about their knowledge of the harmful effects of tobacco consumption and secondhand smoke. Since survey wave 10, the main emphasis of these questions has been on the credibility of the campaign contents and the extent to which people feel affected by the TV spots and ads. 

In the second and sixth survey waves, another add-on module captured information on people’s attitudes on the subject of passive smoking, on exposure to secondhand smoke at various places, and on perceived annoyance with secondhand smoke. In the 16th and 24th survey waves, those questions were asked again, in order to assess any changes.

The third through sixth survey waves included an add-on module on young persons. The aim was to collect data on, among other things, smoking behavior among peers, reasons for and against smoking, and the image of adolescent smokers and non-smokers. The questions in this add-on module were also contained in survey waves 14-17 and 26-28.

In the fourth and fifth survey waves, the participants were asked about smoking counseling by physicians. They were asked whether smokers had talked about their smoking habits when at the doctor’s office, whether doctors had advised them to quit smoking, and whether they had been offered smoking cessation aids. This add-on module was repeated in survey waves 20, 21, and 28.

In survey waves 10 and 19, people living in Switzerland were asked about their opinion on the influence of tobacco advertising, on extensively restricting advertising, on prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to young people, and on raising the price of cigarettes.

Survey wave 12 included an add-on module on perceptions of the actors Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and tobacco industry. Participants were asked about their perception of information on the health risks of tobacco consumption and about what channels of information that they paid attention to. They were also asked to compare the images of the FOPH and the tobacco industry based on nine characteristics and to assess the various activities of the two actors.  

Since survey wave 18, each wave has included a permanent add-on module of questions about protections for non-smokers and on legal regulations, as a complement to the add-on modules ‘passive smoking’ and ‘policies / laws.’

top