Yes, I'm attributing the later successes to the early efforts. I did a quick google search when I posted the original comment and got the dates for the start of the program, which started as a mess, not much later when they finally introduced effective measures.

The aspects of the Swiss approach I wish the US would take the most are the willingness to try something fundamentally different. For the Swiss, it took a few tries to ultimately work out, but I don't see why the current solutions to the problem they use wouldn't work in the US.

You could both be right. That would mean it takes 20+ years of consistent policy to remedy the situation.