Norway's aim of a nicotine-free generation is falling short, with teenagers telling the public broadcaster NRK that as many as half of their classmates already use snus.
The government's 2023 tobacco strategy set the goal that children born in 2010 or later should never use tobacco or nicotine products. Yet Statistics Norway figures show four in ten people aged 16 to 24 regularly use at least one nicotine product. Sixteen-year-olds interviewed at Kolsås in Bærum said pouches and e-cigarettes were easy to obtain through friends.
The Norwegian Cancer Society said politicians had been asleep at the wheel and called for a generational sales ban. A health ministry state secretary shared the concern and cited wider smoking bans, but said the government has no current plans for a similar ban.
Source: NRK
