{"id":28816,"date":"2025-10-28T13:48:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T13:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=28816"},"modified":"2025-10-28T13:48:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T13:48:07","slug":"sweden-is-europes-first-smoke-free-nation-as-scotlands-progress-stalls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/sweden-is-europes-first-smoke-free-nation-as-scotlands-progress-stalls\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden is Europe\u2019s first smoke-free nation as Scotland\u2019s progress stalls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sweden has become the first country in Europe to achieve smoke-free status, while smoking rates in Scotland have stalled amid restrictions on vaping and a decline in cessation funding.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweden reaches smoke-free milestone<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On October 25, 2025, Sweden reached smoke-free status, meaning fewer than five per cent of its population are daily smokers, according to economist David Sund\u00e9n. His calculation, based on public health statistics, aligns with the World Health Organisation definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile it is of course very difficult to pinpoint an exact date, based on my calculations and existing public health statistics, it is precisely on October 25 that Sweden becomes smoke-free according to the WHO definition,\u201d Sund\u00e9n said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He credited the achievement to the country\u2019s approach to offering smokers safer nicotine alternatives rather than relying on bans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cSweden has shown that it is possible to reduce smoking rates drastically without relying only on bans,\u201d he said. \u201cThe key has been the combination of higher cigarette taxes and access to alternatives like snus. That has given people choices instead of simply being forced to quit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Young people in Sweden led the change. \u201cSweden already passed a key milestone in 2018, with Swedes aged 15 to 24 having dropped below the five per cent smoke-free threshold,\u201d Sund\u00e9n said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smoking-related deaths in Sweden are the lowest in the European Union – 90 per 100,000 people – compared with 203 per 100,000 in the UK and 660 per 100,000 in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sund\u00e9n said that if other EU countries had adopted Sweden\u2019s approach, \u201cmore than 217,000 European men could have been saved from premature death. Every year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSweden is already where the UK and the USA hope to be in ten years\u2019 time,\u201d he added. \u201cSweden shows that it is possible to reach the targets much faster than many believe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scotland\u2019s smoking rates flatline<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, smoking rates in Scotland have stalled at 14 per cent, according to the Scottish Health Survey 2024, the same proportion as the previous year. The Scottish Government aims to make Scotland tobacco-free – with smoking rates below five per cent – by 2034.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funding for NHS-run cessation services fell from \u00a39.11 million in 2016\/17 to \u00a37.85 million in 2021\/22, with no figures published for the last three financial years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASH Scotland Chief Executive Sheila Duffy said it is \u201cvital\u201d that people who need behavioural support can access NHS Quit Your Way services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the Scottish government\u2019s funding for smoking cessation services showed a downward trend between 2016\/17 and 2021\/22, and no details have been provided for 2025\/26, ASH Scotland is calling for increased transparency by the government and regional health boards regarding funding for Quit Your Way services, which are needed to drive progress towards Scotland becoming a tobacco-free nation in 2034,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Public Health Scotland, 31,095 quit attempts were made with NHS support in 2024\/25 – a 2.6 per cent increase on the previous year – but most health boards are failing to meet their cessation targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto MSP said: \u201cSmoking remains a leading cause of preventable disease and premature death, with rates significantly higher among adults living in the most deprived areas. The risk of developing smoking-related diseases increases with both the duration and intensity of smoking, but we know this falls substantially with quitting – even for long-term smokers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnyone can access free support through Quit Your Way Scotland, offering expert advice and signposting to local services. Smoking cessation services are cost-effective and help reduce associated harm to people and communities. We continue to work with NHS cessation coordinators and pharmacists to ensure we are reaching those who most need support to quit, as we progress towards our goal of a tobacco-free Scotland by 2034.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sweden has become the first country in Europe to achieve smoke-free status, while smoking rates in Scotland have stalled amid restrictions on vaping and a decline in cessation funding. Sweden reaches smoke-free milestone On October 25, 2025, Sweden reached smoke-free status, meaning…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990005,"featured_media":28817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[329,186,347,333],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-28816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-european-union","tag-nicotine","tag-scotland","tag-sweden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990005"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28816"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28824,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28816\/revisions\/28824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28816"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=28816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}