Prevalence of airway obstruction varies considerably between countries and depending on the reference values employed to define lung function abnormalities. Population studies using the new Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) 2012 reference values remain scarce. We investigated the prevalence of abnormal spirometry in the general population of the city of Lausanne using GLI 2012. PneumoLaus is a single-centre, cross-sectional study of a random sample of adults aged 45-85 years. Spirometry was performed according to ATS/ERS 2005 guidelines and interpreted using GLI 2012 reference values. If FEV1/FVC or FVC was less than the Lower Limit of Normal (LLN), spirometry was repeated after bronchodilation (BD) using 400 µg salbutamol. Chronic airway obstruction was defined as FEV1/FVC LLN after BD; possible lung restriction as FVC Of the 2739 subjects evaluated between June 2014 and December 2016, 50.1% were never, 32.1% former and 17.8% current smokers. Most (91.7%) participants had normal spirometry, 2.1% a possible restriction and 6.2% an obstruction (4.0% chronic and 2.2% reversible). Abnormal spirometry results were found in 11.1% of current or former smokers and in 5.5% of never-smokers. Chronic airway obstruction was observed in 6.4% of current or former smokers. Among chronic airway obstructions, 19.4% were found in never-smokers. This is the first study assessing the prevalence of spirometric abnormalities in Switzerland using GLI 2012 reference values. It shows an unexpectedly low rate of airway obstruction compared to most similar studies performed in Switzerland and elsewhere.