POLICY: In March, Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) will present the public health report, where a new tobacco strategy is expected. Both the Cancer Society and the National Association for Heart and Lung Disease (LHL) have come up with several proposals for tightening the tobacco policy at the forefront.
– Tobacco contributes to a lot of illness, suffering and lost years of life. If we are to achieve the goal of a tobacco-free society, we should use offensive measures, such as a sales ban for future generations, says General Secretary Frode Jahren of LHL to Everything.
The Norwegian Cancer Society wants a tobacco-free Norway in 2030 where less than 3 percent of the population smokes. A ban on sales to anyone born after 2010 is a measure that can contribute to this, the association points out.
Geir Pollestad, parliamentary deputy leader of the Center Party, tells NTB that a ban is something they will not accept.
– It is out of the question for the Center Party’s parliamentary group to advocate a ban on snuff and tobacco. It is also not a matter that the government has reached a conclusion on. This is the Center Party’s view, and we do not think that the Labor Party agrees on a prohibition line either, he says.
– If a ban is the wrong way to go, what measures are appropriate?
– I don’t want to decide on that now. We have to get back to that, says Pollestad.
(©NTB)
