Owning, consuming, or selling drugs is punishable by law. There are age limits for the selling of alcohol and tobacco.
Owning, selling, and consuming illegal drugs is punishable by law. This also applies to small amounts of drugs. The federal Act on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (Betäubungsmittelgesetz | Loi sur les stupéfiants) regulates which substances are illegal. Commercial drug-selling is punished severely.
There are age limits for the sale of alcohol and tobacco. Alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and fruit wine may not be sold or passed on to children and young people under the age of 16 in Canton Bern. For certain alcoholic beverages such as spirits and for tobacco products, the age limit is 18. Anyone who passes on alcohol or tobacco to persons who are too young is liable to prosecution. Staff in restaurants and stores must check the age of customers.
Bans on smoking vary according to the canton. In the Canton of Bern, smoking is prohibited in enclosed spaces open to the public (hospitals, public offices, schools, museums, cinemas, theaters, trains and buses, stores and shopping centers). Smoking is also prohibited indoors in restaurants. An exception is smoking rooms that are partitioned off and ventilated, but these are increasingly rare. The smoking bans are intended to protect people from the health risks.
