In 2022, 15 percent of the population aged 16 to 74 used snus daily, while 4 percent used snus occasionally, according to the statistic 'Tobacco, alcohol and other drugs'.
Using snus regularly is far more common among younger than older people. In the age group 25 to 34, 27 percent, or 1 out of 4, used snus daily in 2022. That is twice the share as in 2012.
– Young men use snus more often than young women, but the last year’s figures show an increase in the share of young women who use snus. Among young men, on the other hand, the share has remained stable, says Sindre Mikael Haugen.
Among women aged 16 to 24, the share who used snus daily increased from 12 percent in 2021 to 16 percent in 2022. Among women aged 25 to 34, there was an increase from 17 to 22 percent in the same period.
In 2022, the share of men who used snus daily in the same age groups was 29 and 32 percent, respectively.
– The trend shows that the difference between men and women when it comes to daily snus use, may be decreasing, says Haugen.
Small increase in smoking among young men
Over the years smoking daily has become less common. In 2022, the share of the population aged 16 to 74 who smoked daily was 7 percent.
– Over the last ten years, the share of daily smokers has been more than halved, says Sindre Mikael Haugen.
The proportion of people who smoke daily varies between age groups. There has been a slight increase in the share of daily smokers in the youngest age groups (16 to 44 years) and a slight decline among people 45 years and older.
– Even though there are small changes, it is particularly worth noticing that the share of young men who smoke daily has gone up a few percentage points, says Sindre Mikael Haugen.
Among men aged 16 to 24, the share who smoke daily has increased from 2 to 4 percent from 2021 to 2022, while the equivalent share among men aged 25 to 34 has increased from 4 to 7 percent in the same period.
– Until 2021, the trend in daily smoking among younger men was declining. It remains to be seen if the increase during the last year is an exception or the beginning of a new trend, says Haugen.
For younger women, there has not been a similar increase. Among the population aged 16 to 74, there are approximately as many women (8 percent) as men (7 percent) who smoke daily.
The shares who report being occasional smokers or daily smokers are the same, that is 7 percent, in both age groups. It is mainly young people who smokes occasionally. 15 percent of the population aged 16 to 24 report that they smoke occasionally.
Clear social differences in smoking patterns
There are clear social differences when it comes to who smokes daily.
Among the population aged 25 to 74, the share of daily smokers is more than double for those with educational attainment at the basic school level (19 percent) compared to those with educational attainment at the upper secondary level (9 percent).
The difference is even greater between those with educational attainment at the basic school level and those with higher education. Only 3 percent of those with the highest level of educational attainment report being daily smokers.
Educational attainment appears to be an important factor in understanding the prevalence of smoking. At the same time educational attainment seems to have greatest significance for women. The distribution of daily users of cigarettes by sex and educational attainment shows that the share of women falls the most with increasing level of education (see figure 3).
