JUNE 2014 – The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has presented its action plan “Roadmap towards a Smoke-Free Finland” to eliminate the use of tobacco products in the country by the end of the year 2040. The plan includes measures both to prevent people from starting to smoke and to help smokers give up the habit.
The plan envisages the introduction of strong tobacco control policies, in line with the requirements of the WHO FCTC and related implementation guidelines, where appropriate, including:
In Finland, smoking has been on the decline for a number of years. In 2013, 16% of Finnish 1564-year-olds smoked on a daily basis. The new action plan envisages no more than 2% of 1564-year-olds using tobacco products by the year 2040.
The English version of the Plan is available at the following link: http://www.stm.fi/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=9882186&name=DLFE-31908.pdf
More information is available from Mr Kari Paaso, Director, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (kari.paaso@stm.fi) or Meri Paavola, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (meri.paavola@stm.fi).