Sweden - Regular tobacco (including SNUS) use falling..

March 19, 2009 - The number of regular smokers in Sweden has fallen by 200,000 in the last five years, with women comprising the largest part of the drop. The data comes from a large annual survey carried out by the the Swedish National Institute of Public Health (Folkhälsoinstitutet) and presented in an article in the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper. The national public health survey has roughly 50,000 participants between the ages of 16 and 84-years-old.

The number of men using smokeless wet snuff (‘snus’) tobacco has fallen from 22 to 19 percent, while snus use among women has remained stable over the last five years at about 3 to 4 percent.

There has been a noticeable reduction in nearly all segments of society, with the exception of men with sickness or disability payments, which have shown a 19 percent increase in the incidence of habitual smoking.

Among women, the number of regular smokers had dropped from 19 to 14 percent, a reduction of 130,000 women. Men showed a reduction from 14 to 11 percent, or 70,000 individuals.

Women in Södermanland, Västmanland and on the Baltic island of Gotland smoke the most, while men from Skåne are the most prolific smokers, with 16 percent reporting they smoke on a daily basis. Women from Västerbotten and Kalmar counties smoke the least, with only 9 percent and 10 percent, respectively, smoking regularly.

Reference: Regular tobacco use falling, Tobacco Journal International, 3/16/2009.