European Parliament declares Sweden smoke-free

International health experts celebrated World No Tobacco Day with news from the European Parliament that Sweden has become the first EU nation to achieve smoke-free status.

In a post published on its X channel on Sunday (May 31), the Parliament stated: “According to recent national data, Sweden has become the first EU country to achieve the 5% EU target (for smoke-free status) in 2025.”

The acknowledgement marks the first known occasion that a major European Union institution has formally recognised Sweden as smoke-free.

Latest figures from the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN) reveal daily smoking has fallen to just 3.7%.

The findings also show that Sweden’s historic decline in smoking has been accompanied by increased use of safer nicotine alternatives such as snus, nicotine pouches and vapes, which have provided smokers with viable alternatives to cigarettes.

Dr Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden, welcomed the European Parliament’s recognition.

“This is a landmark moment for public health in Europe,” he said. “For years, Sweden’s success has been dismissed, downplayed or ignored. Now, a major EU institution has acknowledged what the data clearly shows: Sweden is wiping out smoking.

“Most importantly, Sweden achieved this without prohibition. It succeeded by ensuring that lower-risk alternatives to cigarettes are accessible, acceptable and affordable for adult smokers.”

Sweden’s achievement stands in stark contrast to progress across the wider EU. According to the European Commission’s recent evaluation of EU tobacco laws, smoking prevalence across the bloc has fallen from 28% in 2012 to 24% today – a decline of just 14%.

Over the same period, Sweden has cut smoking by around half and now records Europe’s lowest rates of smoking-related disease. Male lung cancer mortality is 61% below the EU average, while overall cancer mortality is 34% lower.

Yet despite Sweden’s success, the European Commission’s evaluation report largely overlooks its experience and instead raises concerns about products such as nicotine pouches.

Dr Human, a former Secretary-General of the World Medical Association, said this risks missing one of the most important public health lessons available to European policymakers.

“The European Parliament’s recognition of Sweden’s smoke-free status should be a wake-up call,” he said. “If Europe is serious about ending smoking, it should study the country that has already achieved it.

“CAN’s latest findings are hugely encouraging, and we look forward to the Public Health Agency of Sweden confirming Sweden’s smoke-free status when it publishes its official statistics later this year.”

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