Switzerland Today

Hello from Bern,

Switzerland caught the currency experts off guard today when the national bank dropped the interest rate, making it the first central bank of a major western country to do so since rates started rising this cycle.

This wasn’t the only surprise today though. More on this in today’s briefing.

Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) Chairman of the Governing Board during a press conference. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / MICHAEL BUHOLZER

In the news: a rate drop, a new asylum procedure and a new way to recruit teachers in Swiss schools.

• The Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced a surprise cut to its key interest rate. The step comes after Swiss inflation dipped to 1.2% in February. The SNB reduced its headline interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.5% on Thursday, making it the first central bank of a major western industrialised country to do so in the current cycle. In contrast, the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) recently extended their interest rate pause.  
• Swiss justice minister Beat Jans said the federal asylum centre in Boudry will become the third site to introduce a 24-hour fast-track asylum procedure. The aim is to process applications quickly for people from countries largely in North Africa that have a lower likelihood of being recognised as refugees according to the Swiss system.
• The University of Teacher Education in Bern has launched a six-month course to prepare teachers for the classroom. This is an attempt to help teachers with foreign qualifications apply their skills and fill teacher shortages in Switzerland. The move has triggered debate about the language requirement level to teach in Swiss schools.

Smoking among youth has risen in Switzerland. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / GIAN EHRENZELLER

The surprising but not so surprising stats about addiction in Switzerland

A study on addiction came out with some surprising results today. Cigarette consumption among 13-year-olds is increasing with 6% of 13-year-olds having smoked at least once in the month prior to the survey – double the figure recorded in 2018. 

This is despite everything health authorities have said about smoking and cancer. It’s despite the huge warning labels on cigarette packs, age limits, smoking bans in public places, and restrictions on tobacco advertising.

It’s also despite claims that e-cigarettes and other nicotine products will replace conventional smoking. It turns out that all these products just created a new group of young smokers. “Rather an additional group of young nicotine users has been added via e-cigarettes,” said Markus Meury, who works for the NGO Addiction Switzerland and co-authored the survey report.

The situation is particularly concerning among girls. On at least 10 days in the last month, the number of 15-year-old girls who used e-cigarettes went from 1.2% in the 2018 survey to 8% in 2022. It increased among boys of the same age from 4% to 7%.

The results are sobering but really not that surprising according to a commentary by Anke Fossgreen in Tages-Anzeiger today, who wroteExternal link that Switzerland has “become a test market for nicotine products”. Laws have been watered down and insufficiently enforced, and any prevention campaigns have been no match against the tobacco industry’s marketing muscle.

Fly me to the moon or any of Zurich airport’s 200 destinations. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / GAETAN BALLY

Where in the world are you going this summer? There are more options than ever.

The pandemic felt very far away when Zurich airport announced the summer travel scheduleExternal link today. Nine destinations were added to the schedule bringing the total to 200 destinations reached by Zurich.

Edelweiss will fly daily to Vancouver over the summer months and is also serving routes to Calgary (both in Canada), Tampa and Denver (US) more frequently than before. Tunisair is also back with flights from Zurich after a three-year hiatus. This adds destinations like Tunis and Djerba to the plan.

Edelweiss flies for the first time with a weekly scheduled flight to Evenes in the Lofoten. Cluj – Napoca in Romania will also be served by Swiss for the first time – three times a week and all year round.

While not at the pre-pandemic level, more flights to China are also on the summer timetable as well as other faraway destinations in Colombia, Thailand and Oman.

For those of you who prefer to stay on the ground, you can still get a taste of the air and some nostalgia. As SRF reportedExternal link this week, Swissair trolleys are still in high demand and now there is even a company that will repair damaged wheels.

We want to hear from you. Take our survey External linkto let us know what you like to read and how we can improve.