Smoking is reaching historic lows across Finland, Iceland, and the United States, with new data showing rapid declines driven by the rise of alternative nicotine products such as vapes and nicotine pouches.
Across all three countries, traditional smoking is being displaced by safer, smokeless products, particularly among young people. It marks a significant shift in how nicotine is consumed.
Finland: Fewer smokers, more alternatives
In Finland, the latest data shows that “10 per cent of Finns aged 20 to 64 smoked daily in 2024,” a continued decline from previous decades. Daily smoking in schools is now rare: only “three per cent of boys smoked daily in middle schools” and “one per cent in high schools.” The pattern is similar among girls, with daily smoking at just “one per cent in middle schools and high schools.”
Even among adults, consumption is low compared to past levels, despite the fact that Finland still consumed “486 cigarettes per person aged 15 or over” in 2023. Among university students, daily smoking dropped to “four per cent” in 2024.
Nicotine pouches and vapes are filling the gap. In 2024, “eight per cent of men and two per cent of women aged 20 to 64 used nicotine pouches daily,” with daily use peaking in vocational schools where “24 per cent of boys” and “15 per cent of girls” reported daily pouch use in 2025.
Vaping remains low among adults, but daily use among young people is rising, reaching “five per cent in middle schools” and “five per cent in vocational schools” for boys, and “six per cent in middle schools” and “nine per cent in vocational schools” for girls.
US: cigarettes down, vaping up
The U.S. mirrors this shift. According to newly released 2022 to 2023 data from the Tobacco Use Supplement, 8.9 per cent of adults currently smoke – down from 11.4 per cent just a few years ago – and “the most commonly used tobacco product was e-cigarettes (7.9 per cent)” among adults aged 18 to 24.
Nicotine pouches, barely visible in national surveys a decade ago, are now being explicitly tracked. The latest data includes “current use and ever use of nicotine pouches” alongside cigarettes, vaping, and other products, reflecting changing patterns in tobacco control.
Iceland: smoke-free status within reach
Iceland is pushing further still. Latest figures show that “5.6 per cent of Icelandic adults aged 18 to 69 smoke every day,” putting the country on the brink of being defined as smoke-free. This status is achieved when daily smoking falls below five per cent.
Nicotine pouches have transformed the Icelandic nicotine landscape. “Nicotine pouches are now the most popular nicotine products in Iceland, with more than twice as many people using them compared to cigarettes.”
Daily pouch use reached almost 12 per cent in 2024, while vaping also continued to grow, rising from 2.8 per cent in 2016 to “five per cent in 2024.”
Why smoking rates are falling
Across Finland, Iceland, and the US, nicotine consumption is shifting from smoking to smokeless products, especially among young adults. Cigarette use is falling faster than ever, in part because alternatives are increasingly available, regulated, and socially acceptable.
As Iceland’s experience shows, “when safer nicotine products are available, accessible, affordable, appropriate and acceptable” smoking rates can fall to some of the lowest in the world.
