The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: The Department of Tobacco Control has monitored the prevalence of smoking in Norway in the age group 16-74 from 1973. During the period from 1973 to 2004, the prevalence of smoking among men was reduced from 52% to 27%. Among women, the prevalence varied between 30% and 35% from 1973 to 2002 and decreased to 25% in 2004. In the present communication, the decrease in smoking prevalence on the smoking-attributable mortality has been studied.

Methods: The number of deaths from cigarette smoking in Norway has been calculated on the basis of the Cancer Prevention Study I and II in USA. Corrections have been made to take care of the fact that smoking became common in the US earlier than in Norway, and that the daily consumption of cigarettes is less in Norway than in USA. Smoking-attributable mortality has been calculated for the three-years time periods 1987-89, 1993-95, and 2000-02.

Results: The numbers of smoking-attributable deaths among men were constant between 1987-89 and 1993-95, but decreased by about 20% from 1993-95 to 2000-02. Among women, the total numbers of deaths were constant during the periods. The number of deaths due to cancer is still increasing while deaths due to respiratory diseases are constant and deaths due to cardiovascular diseases are slightly reduced. In summary the smoking-attributable deaths in Norway is reduced from 7,500 to 6,400 or by approximately 15% from 1993-95 to 2000-02. The results indicate that the tobacco control policy in Norway has been effective in reducing the smoking-attributable deaths.