Call for tobacco prohibition in Norway

The Norwegian Heart and Lung Patient Organization, LHL, has called for Norway to become tobacco-smoke free, according to a story in The Nordic Page.

LHL’s secretary general, Frode Jahren, was quoted as saying that now was the time to face up to the fact that smoking killed, and so prohibit the sale and importation of tobacco and cigarettes.

The Nordic Page story said that tobacco smoking was the major risk factor for both early death and loss of healthy-life years in Norway.

Estimates from the National Institute of Public Health showed that each year about 5,100 people died from smoking related diseases. And ‘hundreds’ of people died each year from diseases caused by passive smoking.

The story went on to claim that tobacco had no health benefits: it was simply a poison that killed.

Although the number of smokers had decreased in Norway significantly since 1973, daily or occasional smoking was said still to be common among more than a million Norwegians aged 16-74.

While conceding that the fight against smoking had yielded significant results, Jahren said the situation called out for stronger measures than had been employed in the past.

And based on the available knowledge, prohibition was the only logical answer.

The introduction of a sales and importation ban held out the prospect of significant health benefits for individuals and economic benefits for society, Jahren added.