New statistics from the Smoking, Alcohol, and Other Drug Use report reveal that 16% of the Norwegian population aged 16–74 use snus daily in 2023, with an additional 4% using it occasionally. This marks an almost doubling of daily snus users over the past decade.
Sindre Mikael Haugen, a consultant, notes, “There is a growing trend in daily snus use. Over the last ten years, the percentage of daily snus users has almost doubled.”
While daily snus use is more prevalent among men, the percentage increase has been more significant among women. In 2013, 4% of women and 14% of men used snus daily. In 2023, these figures increased to 11% for women and 21% for men.
Key Points:
- Age Group Trends: Daily snus use is most common among individuals aged 25–34, with 29% reporting daily use in 2023. This represents a doubling from 2013 when the corresponding figure was 14%.
- Women’s Surge: Among women aged 25–34, the percentage using snus daily increased from 5% in 2013 to 23% in 2023, almost a fivefold rise in a decade.
- Young Men’s Increase: The percentage of young men aged 25–34 using snus daily increased from 23% in 2013 to 34% in 2023.
- Rise Across Ages: While snus use is considered a youth phenomenon, there has been an increase in daily snus use among the population aged 35 and older over the past decade.
Visualizations indicate a simultaneous decrease in occasional snus use among individuals aged 25–34, from 9% in 2013 to 4% in 2023.
Decline in Daily Smokers:
In contrast to the rise in snus usage, daily smoking has halved over the last decade. In 2023, 7% of the population aged 16–74 smoked daily, down from 14% in 2013.
Haugen states, “Over the past decade, there has been a decline in the percentage of daily smokers across all age groups, with roughly equal numbers of men and women smoking daily.”
Socioeconomic Impact: Social disparities persist, with the highest differences observed between those with lower and higher education levels. In 2023, 19% of those with only primary education smoked daily, compared to 2% among those with university-level education.