[The use of tobacco and smoking habits--is Norway lagging behind?]

A comparative analysis of smoking habits, based on data from three different sources, shows that the present level of tobacco consumption in Norway is at a mid-Nordic level, but lower in a European perspective. There has been a 25% decline in per capita consumption of tobacco since the mid-1970s, and the decrease has been most pronounced during the 1990s. The current rate of decline is the same as in the other Nordic countries. The prevalence of smoking among men is at present lower in Norway than in most European countries outside the Nordic ones. Since the mid-1950s, the prevalence of daily smoking among Norwegian men has decreased from approximately 70% to 35% in 1997. However, within the last ten years the decline has levelled out and smoking among men has been stable in recent years. Smoking among women is more widespread in Norway than in most European countries. The number of female smokers reached a peak around 1970. Since the 1970s, the prevalence of smoking among women has been stable. The prevalence of daily smoking in the age-group 16-24 years is currently at a mid-European level. However, the decline observed during the late 1970s and the first half of the 1980s does seem to have levelled out during the 1990s.