Youth smoking down
Young people are smoking less and their attitudes to tobacco are changing, according to research carried out by the University of Tampere for the MSAH. This is a welcome turn in youth smoking trends of recent years, especially among girls. Smoking among 18 year-olds has remained roughly the same as in previous years - 34% and 33% among boys and girls respectively. But in the 1990s younger teenage girls were taking up smoking more readily than boys, a trend that has now stopped, according to the research.
Daily smoking by 14 year-olds has dropped from 2001, from 15% to 10% of girls and 13% to 10% of boys. In 2001, some 29% of 16 year-old boys and 31% of girls were regular smokers. The figures are now 23% and 27% respectively.
Youth attitudes to smoking are also more anti-tobacco. Seventy percent of young people surveyed agreed with the view that smoking is for losers.
Further information: Mr Olli Simonen, Minsterial adviser, tel. +358 9 160 74376