According to a new assessment by the Research Centre for Prevention and Health (RCPH), almost one third of Danes are in support of a total smoking ban in the not too distant future.
The assessment, published in the scientific periodical PubMed, showed that 30.6 percent of Danes support a total smoking ban within ten years’ time or more.
“Women were less supportive of a future ban and more supportive of increasing taxes than men. Support for both measures was highest among the youngest,” the assessment found.
“Only a small difference was found in the level of support for a ban depending on the respondents’ educational attainment, while support for higher taxes tended to be more favoured by those who with a higher level of education. Support for both measures was greatest among those who had never smoked compared to daily smokers.”
READ MORE: Bans on workplace smoking in Denmark helping people to kick the habit
End game strategy
The results also revealed that 59 percent were open to an increase in tobacco taxes in order to make smoking even less popular.
Copenhagen is working towards reducing the number of smokers in the city via its ‘Røgfri København 2025’ (‘Smoke-free Copenhagen 2025’) initiative, which aims to decrease the number of smokers to under 4 percent by 2025.
In Finland, officials have already decided to increase taxes on tobacco in a bid to make the nation smoke-free by 2040. New Zealand is meanwhile aiming to become a smoke-free nation by 2025.
