Until 2019, the law gave the Confederation an import monopoly, making Switzerland the last country in Europe to liberalise the ethanol market.
The entry into force of the new Federal Constitution has also changed the legal framework: the Confederation is no longer obliged to take measures to reduce the import and production of spirit drinks and ethanol.
Article 105[7] of the new Federal Constitution only states that the Confederation must take into account the harmful effects of alcohol consumption.
In particular, the following three objectives were to be achieved: On 30 June 2010, the Federal Council opened the consultation procedure for the total revision of the Alcohol Act.
While the cantons and municipalities welcomed the alcohol law project, the business community criticised the proposed measures as going too far and pointed to the lack of a constitutional basis for regulating the sale of wine and beer.
The representatives of the prevention sector approved the orientation of the new alcohol law, but considered the proposed measures to be insufficient.
Taking into account the results of the consultation procedure, the Federal Council approved the message concerning the total revision of the Alcohol Act on 25 January 2012.
The legal age limits for the supply of alcoholic beverages (18 years for spirits and 16 years for beer and wine), the creation of a legal basis for test purchases and the prohibition of the supply of alcoholic beverages to minors would strengthen the effectiveness of the provisions aimed at protecting young people.
The aim of this requirement was not only to encourage the consumption of non-alcoholic drinks, but also to limit the sale of alcohol at extremely low prices.
In order to take account of regional specificities, these measures would be designed as a federal standard and could be supplemented by the cantons if necessary.