Swiss voters will decide today whether their country will become the first in the world to ban animal experiments in a referendum that also looks at tightening controls on cigarette advertising.
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
The Swiss pharmaceutical industry, which includes the giants Roche and Novartis, stresses that such research is needed to develop new drugs.
Proponents of banning animal experiments – which government figures say killed more than 500,000 animals in Swiss laboratories by 2020 – say the practice is morally wrong and unnecessary.
According to the latest polls, 68% of respondents oppose the proposed ban, saying it is unlikely to be approved.
The proposal to further restrict cigarette advertising seems likely to be approved, with 63% of those polled voting in favor.
The result of the referendum will be binding on the government, which will then have to decide how the proposals will be implemented.
The anti-tobacco campaign, which needs the support of the majority of cantons and voters to be approved, wants to extend the existing restrictions on advertising to include ads wherever young people can see them. That would mean banning advertising in newspapers, cinemas, the internet, events and billboards. Proponents say that such advertisements encourage smoking in young people.
The government claims that the proposed ban “goes too far” and has resulted in counter-proposals that include further restrictions, but allowing ads in newspapers, shops and on the internet.
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