SMOKING
Fewer young Danes are lighting up
The number of youths under the age of 15 who smoke has halved over the past for years. "A fantastic development," the Danish Cancer Society says.
Published: 4 September 2014 11:30 CEST
Photo: Jordan Cameron/Flickr
Smoking has fallen out of favour amongst young Danes, according to a report from the National Institute for Public Health (Statens Institut for Folkesundhed).
The report states that the number of Danes under the age of 15 who smoke has been halved in the past four years, from around ten percent to just five percent.
The Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens Bekæmpelse) called the news “a fantastic development”.
“Young people simply no longer think it is cool to smoke,” the society’s chairman, Frede Olesen, told Jyllands-Posten.
The health minister, Nick Hækkerup, also welcomed the development.
“One cannot be anything but happy about that, whether you are the health minister, a regular citizen or a father like myself,” he told Jyllands-Posten.
In related news, Hækkerup announced on Thursday that the Health Ministry will allot 27.5 million kroner to 27 different municipalities to fund programmes designed to help long-time smokers kick the habit.
“We know that many of those who smoke the most would really like to put the cigarettes away. We would like to give them extra help,” he said in a press release.
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