More ‘snusers’ and fewer smokers in Norway
In the past ten years, the proportion of daily smokers in Norway has decreased from 21 to 12%, while the number of people who use snus (snuff) daily has doubled from 6 to 12%.
The figures come from Statistics Norway (SSB) and apply to Norwegians between 16 and 74 years old. The statistics also show large county differences.
The proportion who smoke has been fairly stable in recent years, but the use of snus has increased. Smoking is still more common than using snus every day. The tendency is that the oldest are smokers, while the youngest use snus.
The figures show that there are large differences in terms of women and men. Especially among younger women, the use of snus has increased in recent years. One in six women aged between 16 to 34 use snus daily, almost as many as men.
Finnmark at the top
In Finnmark, 16% are snusing daily, followed by Troms, Nordland and Oppland with 13%. In Aust-Agder, the fewest people use snus, at 7%.
When it comes to smoking, Østfold tops statistics. 16% of the population smokes daily. In Telemark and Finnmark, the share is 15%. Finnmark is also the county with the strongest decline, relatively, in the proportion of daily smokers according to SSB.
At the bottom of the list are Oslo and Akershus, where 8 and 9% of inhabitants smoke daily.
Although smoking has declined during the past ten-year period, it has gone up slightly from 11% in 2017 to 12% in 2018. This worries health director, Bjørn Guldvog.
Important prevention
He is most concerned with the long-term trends, which show that smoking is declining, but he reacts to developments in the past year.
“This shows the need to continue the important work of preventing smoking among young people while helping those who want to quit,” stressed Guldvog. He is pleased that a new generational tobacco-free strategy is a separate point of departure in the new government platform.
A survey conducted by Opinion in the autumn of 2018 showed that almost half of those who smoke want to quit.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
