Norway
All workplaces in Norway - including restaurant and bars - are smokefree as of June 1, 2004 (the law was enacted by Parliament April 8, 2003). Read the Health Ministry's White Paper for more background on the law.
Click here for official information on traveling to this beautiful, smokefree country. Below is an example of Norway's smokefree advertising. Click on the image to view the full version in PDF format:
Smokefree News |
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Hiilamo, H.; Glantz, S.A., "Local
Nordic tobacco interests collaborated with multinational companies to
maintain a united front and undermine tobacco control policies,"
Tobacco Control 22(2): 154-164, March 2013. Conclusions Iversen, B.; Jacobsen, B.K.; Lochen, M.L., "Active
and passive smoking and the risk of myocardial infarction in 24,968
men and women during 11 year of follow-up: the Tromso Study,"
European Journal of Epidemiology [Epub ahead of print], February
27, 2013. Active smoking is a well-established risk factor for myocardial infarction, but less is known about the impact of passive smoking, and possible sex differences in risk related to passive smoking. We investigated active and passive smoking as risk factors for myocardial infarction in an 11-year follow-up of 11,762 men and 13,206 women included in the Tromsø Study. There were a total of 769 and 453 incident cases of myocardial infarction in men and women, respectively. We found linear age-adjusted relationships between both active and passive smoking and myocardial infarction incidence in both sexes. The relationships seem to be stronger for women than for men. Age-adjusted analyses indicated a stronger relationship with passive smoking in ever-smokers than in never-smokers. After adjustment for important confounders (body mass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and physical activity) the associations with active and passive smoking were still statistically significant. Adjusting for active smoking when assessing the effect of passive smoking and vice versa, indicated that the effect of passive smoking in men may be explained by their own active smoking. In women, living with a smoker ?30 years after the age of 20 increased the myocardial infarction risk by 40 %, even after adjusting for active smoking. Passive smoking is a risk factor for myocardial infarction on its own, but whereas the effect for men seems to be explained by their own active smoking, the effect in females remains statistically significant. Health
minister rejects more wine and tobacco restrictions Health
authorities ignite new anti-smoking campaign Tobacco
giant drops appeal Philip
Morris Loses Tobacco Lawsuit against Norway Philip Morris Norway lost the lawsuit filed in Oslo District Court
against the state to cancel the ban on display of tobacco products in
stores. … Norway
may ban smoking during work Norwegian
companies' smoking ban fails Norway
anti-smoking debate puffs along Sparks
fly over new anti-smoking proposals Smoking
ban has not affected pubs’ and restaurants’ takings, finds
Norwegian study A new study of the income of pubs and restaurants in Norway, which
completely banned smoking in such establishments in 2004, shows that
the ban has not had a negative long term effect on either type of venue.
… In the debate about laws regulating smoking in restaurants and pubs,
there has been some controversy as to whether smoke-free laws would
reduce revenues in the hospitality industry. … Minister
wants smoke-free Norway Smoking costs society up to 80 billion kroner per year, according to a new report from the Directorate of Health. Minister Strøm-Erichsen is worried that the number of people who quit smoking seems to be evening out. Figures from the Institute of Public Health (Folkehelseinstituttet) reveal approximately 6,700 people die each year “The costs are considerable, and the statistics show starting smoking is serious. There is a lot to be saved and gained by reducing it,” she tells Dagbladet. Between 10 and 12 percent of 15-year-olds smoke either daily or every week, rising to 30 percent amongst 16 to 74-year-olds. The minister believes Norway could be smoke-free if the government’s
campaign is successful ... The
State of Public Health in Norway 2010 – new report Chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and mental health problems, have become the major challenge for public health in Norway today. However, even though more people must live with a chronic disease, the Norwegian population has never been as healthy. ... ...Smoking is decreasing among adolescents, but an increasing number use moist snuff. The number of children exposed to passive smoking is decreasing as the number of adult non-smokers increases. ... Philip
Morris to sue Norway over tobacco display ban Global tobacco giant Philip Morris said Tuesday it planned to take the Norwegian state to court in an attempt to overturn a law in the Scandinavian country banning the display of cigarettes in stores. "Philip Morris Norway (PMN) will today start legal proceedings to overturn the ban on displaying tobacco products in retail stores," the company said in a statement. . . . "Display bans have had no impact on reducing smoking in the countries
that have implemented them, a fact acknowledged by the Norwegian Ministry
of Health and Care Services," PMN spokeswoman Anne Edwards said
in the statement. ... Philip
Morris Norway AS Announces Lawsuit Challenging Norwegian Tobacco Product
Display Ban Philip Morris Norway AS (PMN) will today start legal proceedings to overturn the ban on displaying tobacco products in retail stores. “Display bans have had no impact on reducing smoking in the countries that have implemented them, a fact acknowledged by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services. Instead these regulations prevent adult consumers from seeing the available product range and overly restrict competition” said Anne Edwards, spokesperson for PMN. “We have raised these issues with the government to no avail, which has regrettably left us with no choice but to litigate.” The goal of the lawsuit is to overturn the display ban to permit retailers to display tobacco products in their stores enabling adult smokers to see the products on offer. PMN is not seeking any other changes to tobacco-related laws in Norway. “We fully support tobacco product regulation and effective measures to prevent minors from smoking. However, we believe that the government should focus on proven measures such as strict enforcement of the minimum age law and education campaigns,” said Anne Edwards. The lawsuit will be filed at the Oslo District Court. It challenges the tobacco product display ban on the grounds that it constitutes a violation of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement. As part of the filing, PMN is seeking referral of the case to the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) Court in Luxembourg. . . . Philip Morris International has launched a website, www.productdisplayban.com in order to provide factual information on the prohibition of the display of tobacco products at point of sale and describe its effects on public health, adult smokers, retailers, tobacco manufacturers and enforcement agencies. ... Norway
kicks out Swedish Match Norway sovereign wealth fund has kicks out 17 tobacco producers -- including Swedish Match -- from its 450 billion dollar portfolio for ethical reasons, the government said in a statement Tuesday. 'It is important that the ethical guidelines reflect at all times what can be considered to be commonly held values of the owners of the fund,' Finance Minister Sigbjorn Johnsen said. "The divestment of shares in these companies has now been completed". Also British groups British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco, US groups Altria, Philip Morris and Reynolds American and Japanese company Japan Tobacco were expelled. The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund -- which contains nearly all of the state revenues from the oil industry in Norway, one of the world's largest oil and gas exporters -- holds 1.0 percent of the world's total stock market capitalisation. Shares in Swedish Match, tobacco producer founded in 1917 by the “Match-king” Ivar Kreuger and today specializing in snuff, cigars and lights products, dropped 0.80 percent in Stockholm. ... On June 1, 2005, Bjarne Rosted, Senior Adviser International Affairs,
with the Norwegian Cancer Society, stated, "Today it is one
year since the law on Smokefree Bars and Restaurants in Norway was introduced.
Below you will find a link to the evaluation report which was published
today. I am happy to inform you that the introduction of ban on smoking
at bars and restaurants in Norway has been a success. The preliminary
results from the Norwegian smoking ban show a general willingness to
comply both among employees and customers. It seems like a total ban
is easier to enforce and comply with compared to earlier situation with
smoke free zones legislation. In the general public, the support towards
the smoking ban has increased after implementation. Health problems
dropped significantly among employees after the ban implementation and
bar visitors report increased air quality after the ban." View
the evaluation report Opposition
claims of economic gloom proved false Majority
like smoking ban |