Finland, often called “the world’s happiest nation”, is making progress on becoming a smoke-free country by 2030.
In fact, the country’s ban of flavored vaping products, which went into effect years ago, looks to be paying off. The country has almost completely eradicated vaping, according to Bloomberg. It’s a monumental accomplishment for a country that used to be the world’s top per-capita cigarette consumer in the 1920s.
Over the last 2 decades, the country has cut its number of smokers in half and vaping is declining among those aged 14 to 17. Now, only 1% of high school students use e-cigarettes daily. In the U.S., this number stands at about 6%.
By 2030 the country expects that less than 5% of the population will regularly consume tobacco products, while the number now stands at about 16%.
Hanna Ollila, a specialist at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare said: “While tobacco use overall is now declining worldwide, the reduction has been particularly strong in Finland. One of the most effective ways to reduce smoking has been taxation. Taxes on tobacco have been raised almost every year since 2009, which has led to a doubling in the average price of cigarettes.”
Finland has worked against smoking by using its education system. The country has a mandatory health education program that stresses not smoking, which is “quite unique internationally” and “has played a role in preventing kids from taking up smoking,” according to Ollila.
The country also has a prevalence of smoke-free restaurants, workplaces and retail shops, in addition to marketing bans for cigarettes and mandatory shop storage under counters.