SS 16.00-17.30 Special sessions

TOBACCO USE AMONG YOUNG ADULTS IN NORWAY1973-95: HAS THE DECREASE LEVELLED OUT?

Objective

To describe the prevalence of tobacco use among young Norwegian adults 1973-1995.

Design

Cross-sectional personal and telephone surveys.

Setting

Norway, 1973-1995.

Participants

Population-based samples of Norwegians aged 16-74.

Results

A number of studies have indicated that tobacco use among young adult Norwegians declined during the 1960's and '70's. However, this paper shows that this trend levelled out during the 1980's. Hence, the total prevalence of smoking in Norway decreased by only two percentage points from 1980 to 1993, as compared to approximately 10% in many other European countries. An increase in smoking prevalence (and the use of snuff among males) among persons of the age group 16-19 years has been observed in recent years. Consequently, the smoking prevalence among young males and females in 1995 were comparable to those observed in the early 1980s.

Conclusion

These trends in tobacco use are discussed with due reference to the Norwegian tobacco policy in the last decades. Control measures, i.e. taxation, legislation and health education, are emphasized in particular. The paper concludes that the trend of tobacco use reflects an underutilisation of preventive measures in general and health education measures in particular. Financial resources appropriated for health education and information was reduced by 90% during the 1980s.

Objective
Design
Setting
Participants
Results
Conclusion
Smoke Free Europe Conference Abstracts - 19 SEP 1996

Generated with Harlequin WebMaker