Norwegian 15-and 16-year-olds smoke the least in Europe

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Over the last 20 years the number of young Norwegians who have tried smoking has plummeted. Norway is the country in Europe that has the lowest proportion of 15-16 year-olds that smoke.

The proportion of 15-16 year-olds who smoke daily in Norway is 2 percent. This comes from a study by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) on the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs amongst 15-16 year olds, reports NRK news.

Researcher Elin Kristin Bye at NIPH department of drugs, refers to a general decline in smoking amongst the entire population and several anti- tobacco campaigns as the reason for the decline.

– It’s not cool to smoke anymore. Young people have also gained a much greater focus on the body, health and school performance, and this may be some of the reason, she says to NRK.

In 1995, about 30 percent of young people in this country answered that they had never smoked. 20 years later this had increased to just under 70 percent. The use of ‘snus’ has increased however.

– We see that there has been a sharp increase in smokeless tobacco use, but we also see that this is on the way down too , even amongst the  young, says Bye.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today

 

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