In a quarter of all alcohol test purchases last year, young people in Switzerland were able to obtain beer, wine or spirits illegally. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox In the online sector, age is not checked at all in most cases. These rates have only been falling slowly for years. In 2024, over 10,500 alcohol test purchases were carried out by the federal government, cantons, municipalities, institutions and private companies, including large retailers, as reported by the Swiss Addiction Foundation. In 25.2% of all alcohol test purchases in Swiss shops and restaurants, young people were sold alcohol illegally. In the previous year, the figure was 27.3%. In 78.4% of cases, the sales or service staff asked for identification. The lowest rate of offences was recorded in petrol station shops with 19.7% of illegal sales and large retailers with around a quarter. Restaurants and cafés with 31.2%, events with 35.7% and bars with 43% of illegal sales fared worse.
