Finland plans to make the whole country tobacco-free by 2040

Government officials in Finland plan to make the country tobacco-free by 2040.

This means they want less than 2% of their adults to consume tobacco in any form by that deadline and more than 98% of the Finnish population saying no to cigarettes, snuff and other forms of smokeless tobacco, cigars, pipes and even e-cigarettes.

Smoking rates in Finland have been on the decline in recent decades due to measures such as bans on advertising and shop displays, and the creation of smoke-free public spaces.

In 2013, 16% of 15- to 64-year-olds in Finland smoked on a daily basis, while nearby in the UK, 19% of adults were smokers in 2014.