National Strategy on Addiction

The National Strategy on Addiction aims to prevent the development of addiction, provide help to people with an addiction and reduce the negative impact on health and society.

As part of the Federal Council's Health2020 initiative, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and its partners have developed the National Strategy on Addiction. The strategy was adopted by the Swiss Federal Council in November 2015. For the first time, it creates a comprehensive orientation and action framework for stakeholders at all federal levels in the field of addiction and in related areas of social and health policy. It serves experts and service providers as a starting point for their addiction-specific activities and projects.

The National Strategy on Addiction is based on the balance between personal responsibility and support for people with an addiction. It further develops Switzerland's successful addiction policy with its four pillars of prevention, therapy and counseling, harm reduction and regulation. It is integral, cross-addiction and non-substance-related. It aims to strengthen the prevention of addiction and its early detection and to ensure the long-term treatment of people with an addiction. With the National Strategy on Addiction, the Federal Council has created the basis for taking measures not only for drug, alcohol and tobacco-related forms of addiction but also for other forms of addiction such as drug addiction, addictive online behavior and gambling addiction.

In August 2024, the Federal Council took note of the updated plan of measures 2025-2028. This will serve as the basis for implementing the strategy until 2028. As part of this mandate, the sponsoring organisations – the FOPH, the GDK and the Stiftung Gesundheitsförderung Schweiz Swiss health promotion foundation – are merging the existing national strategies on NCDs and addiction into a cross-cutting umbrella strategy. This also encompasses the prevention of mental health conditions. The future strategy thus takes account of the interrelationships between the three thematic areas and the underlying risk and protective factors. The successful four-pillar policy will be continued.
The key elements of the umbrella strategy will be presented to partner organisations and federal agencies in October 2026. Consultation with stakeholders is scheduled for early 2027. The umbrella strategy will be submitted to the platform for dialogue on national health policy at the end of 2027 and subsequently to the Federal Council for approval.
In parallel, action plans will be drawn up with the involvement of the relevant stakeholders. These are to be approved by the platform for dialogue on national health policy at the end of 2028. Implementation will begin in 2029.

Strengthening health literacy: We all have our individual patterns of behaviour and consumption. Behaviours are not static but change according to one’s age and stage in life. The behavioural balance of each individual thus also changes in the course of a lifetime. Individuals and their environment, circumstances and ability to shape the world they live in are key to dealing with addiction. Strengthening individual health literacy is therefore an important part of addiction revention and addiction assistance.

Creating favourable conditions: Besides individual circumstances, societal realities such as work, environmental and living conditions, availability of substances and access to potentially addictive offerings play a crucial role in the development of addiction. Societal framework must therefore be structured in such a way that the health of the individual is promoted and the objectives of addiction prevention and addiction assistance are supported. That includes preventing the onset of problematic consumption and providing early support to vulnerable individuals as well as assistance with controlled use or withdrawal.

Differentiating risks: The National Strategy on Addiction differentiates consumption and behaviour patterns according to their intensity and associated risks for the individual and for society. Low-risk behaviour describes the use of psychoactive substances and types of behaviour which are not harmful for the individuals concerned or their environment and are often part of social coexistence. Risk behaviour involves consumption or behaviour that can cause harm to individuals and their environment. We differentiate between three behaviour patterns with different harm potential, namely excessive behaviour, chronic behaviour and situation-inappropriate behaviour. Addiction is an illness that is characterised by compulsive behaviour that persists even in the face of serious health and social consequences for the individual concerned and their environment.

Assessment of consumption and behaviour: Most people have a low-risk consumption and behaviour pattern and do not constitute a risk to either themselves or others. Some people are no longer able to control their substance use or their behaviour, however. They show a risk behaviour that can develop into addiction. People who are unable to restrict their consumption or change their behaviour should nonetheless be given support to minimise risk and harm.

Early support: People with problematic behaviour and consumption patterns often do not recognise the issue themselves, or only recognise it at a late stage. The earlier risk behaviour or addiction is recognised, the more effectively those concerned can be supported and harm to individuals and society reduced. Effective addiction assistance starts with the individual and provides support regardless of whether the person is in a position to undergo treatment or not. Effective addiction assistance aims to regenerate health and promote social integration, involving family and friends as well as other social contacts through leisure activities, work and school.

Improving prevention and addiction assistance: As part of the Health2020 health policy agenda, the Federal Council has decided to intensify health promotion and disease prevention. With regard to addiction, the agenda calls for improvements in prevention, early detection and control of addictive disorders. The Federal Council has commissioned the Federal Office of Public Health to develop a National Strategy on Addiction. The focus of the strategy is from both a broad-based policy-oriented and specialist point of view.

Targeted action: The National Strategy on Addiction has eight fields of action. Four theme-oriented fields address the lines of action of the established four-pillar policy: Prevention, health promotion, early detection, treatment and counselling, harm reduction and minimisation of risk, regulation and enforcement. Four additional fields of action describe cross-sectoral tasks: coordination and cooperation, knowledge, awareness-raising and information, international policy.

Coordinated implementation: The National Strategy on Addiction sets out the goals for the period from 2017 to 2028. Their implementation is concretised in a plan of measures. The current action plan for addiction is valid for the period 2025-2028. The action plan sets out the priorities for implementation and describes how the objectives are to be achieved. It also provides information on how the Confederation, cantons, municipalities, professional associations, NGOs and other partners will work together. The measures are embedded in existing structures as far as possible and are implemented in accordance with the responsibilities of the addiction policy stakeholders. Evaluations were carried out in 2020 and 2024 to check the effectiveness of the measures. The measures were adapted where necessary.

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Further information

• Documents

  • Overview Document National Strategy on Addiction and Action Plan 2017-2024 (extended to 2028)

    PDF1.78 MB14 February 2025

  • Neu: Massnahmenplan 2025-2028 zur Nationalen Strategie Sucht

    PDF3.59 MB20 August 2024

  • Grafiken Kurzversion Nationale Strategie Sucht

    PDF7.87 MB16 August 2024

  • Resumen Estrategia Nacional y Plan de Medidas Adicciones 2017-2024 (prorrogado hasta 2028)

    PDF1.82 MB14 February 2025

  • Gráficos Resumen Estrategia Nacional Adicciones

    PDF7.73 MB21 August 2024

  Development of key indicators for national NCD and addiction strategies 2017-2024

  • Development of key indicators for national NCD and addiction strategies 2017-2024

    in french

    PDF2.34 MB6 May 2024

• Links

  MonAM – Swiss Monitoring System of Addiction and noncommunicable Diseases