Smoking

In 2020, 12 per cent of 20-64-year-olds smoked daily: 14 per cent of men and 11 per cent of women. Smoking has decreased among all age groups, particularly among men: for example, in the 1980s, one in three men and one in five women smoked daily.

Four out of five people who smoke daily are worried about the health effects of the habit. More than half would like to quit and a little over a third have attempted to quit smoking.

A majority of young Finnish people do not smoke. According to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey (summary in English) seven per cent of 14–18-year-old boys and five per cent of of 14–18-year-old girls smoked daily in 2021.  At the beginning of the millennium, 25 per cent of  this age group smoked daily. Consumption increases slightly with age.

Education has an impact

In 2020, 5.3 per cent of the population with high level education, 8.5 per cent of the population with medium level of education and 15.4 per cent of the population with low level education smoked daily.

According to the adolescent health and lifestyle survey 2019 smoking among parents continues to decrease. In 2019, 55 % of young people reported that their father had never smoked during their lifetime. The corresponding figure for mothers was 72 %.  All in all, it is rare that a young person is exposed to tobacco smoke for more than an hour per day.

According to the School Health Promotion study, in 2021, there continued to be great difference between schools in the prevalence of smoking: 18 per cent of young people attending vocational institutes smoked, whereas only 2 per cent of secondary school students smoked. 5 per cent of 8th and 9th graders at comprehensive school smoked.

Daily smoking among university and university of applied science students has decreased over the last 15 years. In 2021, 5 per cent of students smoked daily (6 per cent of women and 5 per cent of men). Smoking is less common among university students (women 2 per cent, men 3 per cent) than among those studying at a university of applied sciences (women 10 per cent, men 7 per cent).

Want to quit smoking?

Regardless of how long or how much you have smoked, it is always possible to quit smoking. Quitting is a decision you will not need to regret.

A guide to quitting smoking

Stumppi helps you quit smoking. Free helpline at 0800 148 484 (in Finnish). Calls are answered by healthcare professionals. 

Sources
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare: Sotkanet.fi – Statistical information on welfare and health in Finland
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (2021): School Health Promotion study
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare: Tupakkatilasto 2021 (pdf)
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: The Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey 2019: Adolescent tobacco and alcohol use and gambling (in Finnish, description sheet in English)
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey: smoking and drinking among young people no longer decreasing (English, summary)