Finland and other European countries are closely watching the UK’s move to ban tobacco sales for today’s under-18s.
Across the EU, tobacco-related diseases are estimated to cause nearly 700,000 premature deaths each year.
“That’s close to the population of Helsinki,” said Hanna Ollila of the Finnish institute for health and welfare (THL).
The UK is set to ban the sale of tobacco for life to anyone born in 2009 or later. It’s a landmark decision, as Europe has struggled to curb smoking.
Moving in better direction
In Finland, ten percent of people aged 20–64 smoke daily, according to the public health authority. In Bulgaria, 36 percent of those over 15 smoke, compared with just six percent in Sweden. Iceland does even better, at five percent.
Smoking among Finnish young people has declined markedly since the turn of the millennium.
By 2025 in Finland, the share of daily smokers among boys was three percent in lower secondary schools, one percent in upper secondary schools, and five percent in vocational institutions. Among girls, the corresponding figures were one percent in both lower and upper secondary schools, and five percent in vocational education.
Youth vaping, e-cigarettes, and nicotine pouches are, however, a growing concern for Hanna Ollila.
She said the tobacco industry is trying to recruit new customers by normalising the use of tobacco and nicotine products in everyday life.
Smoking is also again becoming more visible in entertainment media. Cigarettes appear in the hands of social media influencers, are lit indoors in films, and even show up on fashion week runways. According to Ollila, this kind of imagery can strongly influence young people.
