Read articles from Norway

October 05, 2026 by substack.com

The author argues that tobacco harm reduction (THR) should extend beyond helping current smokers switch to lower-risk nicotine products. US data show stable overall nicotine use alongside declining smoking and rising vaping, particularly among young adults. The author interprets these trends as suggesting that vaping may divert some people from smoking, although population trends alone cannot establish causation. THR could therefore include switching, maintaining smoking abstinence, and preventing smoking among would-be smokers. Whether vaping benefits never-smokers depends on whether they would otherwise smoke or remain nicotine-free. The author recommends broader messaging, research, and population models examining these counterfactuals to sustain THR’s relevance as cigarette smoking declines.

October 05, 2026 by junonews.com

Ian Irvine argues that Canada’s restrictions on nicotine pouches undermine smoking cessation by making lower-risk alternatives harder to buy than cigarettes. He criticizes the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit’s opposition to nicotine substitution, advocating harm reduction rather than eliminating all nicotine use. Citing vaping initiatives in New Zealand and the UK, alongside declining smoking rates in Sweden and Norway, he urges Ottawa to improve access to pouches, vapes and heated tobacco products. Although nicotine causes dependence, Irvine maintains that these alternatives pose substantially lower health risks than smoking. The article discloses that some of his research received tobacco-policy foundation funding and that nicotine producers covered conference expenses.

September 01, 2026 by tidsskriftet.no

Changing nicotine preferences do not necessarily indicate a shrinking nicotine market. They can mean a shift in how people consume nicotine: away from cigarettes and towards pouches, snus, vaping or heated tobacco. That distinction matters because public health outcomes depend on the form of use, not only the presence of nicotine itself. A stable market can still become less harmful when policy helps consumers move away from combustion.

August 19, 2026 by brusselssignal.eu

The EU tobacco consultation has exposed a deeper disagreement about the purpose of nicotine policy. One side treats all nicotine use as the problem; the other asks how to reduce the far greater harms caused by smoking. That divide matters because regulation built around abstinence alone can leave adult smokers with fewer credible alternatives to cigarettes. Europe needs a framework that recognises risk differences, protects young people and allows harm reduction to contribute to lower smoking rates.

January 17, 2025 by planetofthevapes.co.uk

Norway is following Sweden's lead in reducing smoking rates by embracing snus over cigarettes, as highlighted by GSTHR. Snus offers a safer nicotine consumption alternative, leading to a significant decline in smoking, especially among young adults. Despite its efficacy, snus's harm reduction benefits are not widely promoted by Norwegian health authorities. The country's progress in tobacco harm reduction showcases the potential for consumer-driven initiatives to combat smoking. Norway stands out for its strict tobacco control measures and significant shift towards snus as a substitute for cigarettes, even without official endorsement. This trend indicates the impact of harm reduction strategies and consumer choices in reducing tobacco-related harms.

September 15, 2023 by sciencenorway.no

The risk of oesophageal cancer is more than three times higher, and the risk of pancreatic cancer is twice as high in snus users than in others, according to a new study reported by NRK recently (link in Norwegian). Snus is a powdered tobacco, which today usually comes in a small pouch which is stuffed under the upper lip. "What we see in the studies that we have is that these occurrences of cancer follow the digestive tract," physician and researcher Bendik Brinchmann tells NRK. "What we also see again and again is that the mortality of the cancer, if you get it and use snus, becomes higher," he adds.

August 08, 2023 by daily-pouch.com

Norway has a smoking prevalence rate of 14%. Compared to the EU average of 23%, these figures are promising. It’s long been suggested that the availability of Snus is one of the big reasons for these relatively low smoking rates in Nordic countries. [...] Snus started to take off in Norway in the 1990s. These days, it’s a well-established product in the Norwegian market, and it’s used by about 25% of men and 10% of women.

April 12, 2023 by snusforumet.se

The Norwegian government wants to ban online snus sales as part of a new tobacco strategy. But experts warn the measure may be counterproductive for efforts to reduce smoking rates.

Norway’s new tobacco strategy was included in a sweeping public health report released on March 31.

“Our vision is a tobacco-free generation, and we want to make ensure children born in 2010 and later are given that opportunity,” said Norwegian health minister Ingvild Kjerkol in a statement.

March 22, 2023 by snusforumet.se

A proposed ban on flavoured snus will not be among the measures included in the Norwegian government’s new tobacco strategy, according to media reports.

Norwegian health minister Ingvild Kjerkol is set to release a new public health report on March 31st that will include several proposals that would tighten tobacco regulation.

“If flavoured snus is banned, we risk seeing a rise in smoking prevalence again. And we don’t want that,” Karl Erik Lund of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health told the Verdens Gang (VG) newspaper in early March

October 07, 2022 by thelocal.no

Today’s duty-free and personal use tobacco quota amounts to 200 cigarettes or 250 grams of other tobacco products (e.g., snuff) and 200 sheets of cigarette paper.

The quota also includes liquid with nicotine for e-cigarettes and other nicotine products. [...] The government intends for the changes to be limited to the duty-free tobacco quota for personal use.

The Ministry of Finance expects the tightening to increase the state’s tax revenue by roughly 800 million kroner.