[A study of adolescent smoking and use of snuff in 2004 and 2007]

Abstract

Background: During the last decades, the proportion of smokers has declined and the use of snus has increased. We examined changes in 16 - 20-year-olds' use of tobacco products after introduction of stricter smoking regulations in 2004.

Material and methods: 16 - 20-year-olds' use of and attitudes towards tobacco-products were assessed in national surveys representative for the age-group (n 2004 =2400 and n 2007 =2415) in 2004 and 2007. We compared use of such products at the two measurement points and to what extent the decline in smoking and increase in snus.

Results: The same proportion of adolescents used snus or smoked in both surveys (28.8 %), but the distribution was markedly changed. In 2004, 22.5 % of the girls and 20.3 % of the boys smoked daily or every week; corresponding figures in 2007 were 17.3 % and 17.0 %. In 2004, 18.2 % of the boys used snus daily or every week and in 2007 the proportion had increased to 24.9 %. Among the girls, this figure tripled between the two surveys, from 2.4 % to 7.3 %.

Interpretation: A further reduction in smoking rates can be expected if we presume that the changes we found are stable. The increased use of snus calls for more knowledge about how this product affects health.