The Swedish government has officially confirmed that smoking rates in the country have dropped to 5.6 percent, setting up the nation to become the first in Europe to reach “smoke free” status.
The designation “smoke free,” at least in the European Union and the United Kingdom, refers to smoking prevalence of less than 5 percent in a given population.
Sweden’s success is attributable, in large part, to tobacco harm reduction (THR). But rather than the vapes that are replacing smoking in the UK, say, or the heated tobacco products that have seen cigarette sales plummet in Japan, a third major THR option is key to the Swedish story: snus, a moist oral tobacco product that’s placed inside the upper lip.
Smoking rates in Sweden have fallen rapidly in the last few decades: among men from 40 percent in 1976 to 15 percent in 2002, and among women from 34 percent to 20 percent in that period. Those rates have, of course, continued to fall, as snus prevalence—especially in men—correspondingly increased, suggesting a substitution effect.
Alex Norcia – Filter – 2022-12-07.
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