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Norway's upcoming tobacco restrictions do not include a ban on cigarettes in flavorings

Norway's upcoming tobacco restrictions do not include a ban on cigarettes in flavorings

2023-04-03

April 3, 2013 - A proposed ban on smoking in flavorings will not be among the measures in the Norwegian government's new tobacco strategy, according to reports.


Norway's health minister Ingvild Kjerkol will release a new public health report on March 31st, which will include a number of proposals to strengthen tobacco regulation.


Comments from politicians ahead of the report's release suggest that a ban on flavoring and lifetime smoking bans for those born after 2008 are on the table, raising concerns among public health experts.


"If flavored cigarettes are banned, we risk seeing an increase in smoking prevalence again. We don't want that." Karl Erik Lund of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said in early March.


Flavored snuff is not prohibited


But a new report in the Dagbladet newspaper has helped calm the nerves of Norwegian snuff users. Several independent sources familiar with the government's work on public health reports have told the Financial Times that a ban on smoking in flavorings is off the table.


According to Dagbladet, 55 percent of all tobacco smoked in Norway is flavored. However, manufacturers claim the figure is much higher because even tobacco-flavored snus brands, such as Swedish Match's General brand snus, can be classified as flavoured because they contain added spices such as bergamot.


It is unclear whether a lifetime smoking ban - inspired by a similar proposal recently implemented in New Zealand - will be included in the public health plan.


Reduce smoking rates


Norway has banned smoking in indoor restaurants since 2004. In the years after the ban, oral smoking was introduced more widely and daily smoking rates in the country fell steadily. Smoking rates continue to decline as more smokers turn to oral cigarettes as a legal and safer alternative for Norwegians seeking to quit.


Between 2005 and 2018, the rate of oral tobacco use in Norway increased from 5 percent to 12 percent, and smoking rates fell by half -- from 25 percent to 12 percent -- during that time. By 2022, the daily smoking rate in Norway had fallen to 7 percent, while the proportion of daily snuff users had risen to 15 percent.


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