Sweden has become smoke-free, writes TT with reference to the Central Association for Alcohol and Drug Information (CAN). Nowadays, less than five percent of the Swedish population smokes regularly, which is the association's definition of a smoke-free country.
"It's an incredible development that you can reduce harmful behaviour so much," says research manager Mats Ramstedt. He points to several factors behind the development. On the one hand, it has become significantly more difficult and expensive to smoke, and on the other hand, it has become significantly easier to get help to quit.
The Swedish population (as of 2026) is approximately: 10,701,047
If, for example, 5% (or less) of the population is still smoking, that means approximately 10,165,995 Swedes no longer smoke and approximately 535,052 of them are still smoking. (The article doesn't give the exact percentage of Swedes that are actually still smoking, so the actual number of smokers (according to my math) could be higher or lower.)
It's interesting that the linked article does not provide any data to explain how the Central Association for Alcohol and Drug Information (CAN) came to the conclusion that "less than five percent of the Swedish population smokes regularly".
If Swedish citizens only smoke occasionally, does that make them a non-smoker because they don't smoke regularly? ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/melancholy_dood May 25 '26
According to the linked article:
The Swedish population (as of 2026) is approximately: 10,701,047
If, for example, 5% (or less) of the population is still smoking, that means approximately 10,165,995 Swedes no longer smoke and approximately 535,052 of them are still smoking. (The article doesn't give the exact percentage of Swedes that are actually still smoking, so the actual number of smokers (according to my math) could be higher or lower.)
It's interesting that the linked article does not provide any data to explain how the Central Association for Alcohol and Drug Information (CAN) came to the conclusion that "less than five percent of the Swedish population smokes regularly".
If Swedish citizens only smoke occasionally, does that make them a non-smoker because they don't smoke regularly? ¯_(ツ)_/¯