You were citing the taxes of cigarettes in different countries where Norway
is on the top. Taxes on sigarettes are surely high here, as well as taxes
on alcohol a.s.o. However, it does not seem to prevent the usage of
sigarettes and alchol among Norwegian adolescents. In the newspapers last
week a research report was cited that had examined the adolescents' alcohol
habits in Norway. In the cities people use more wine than earlier, - the
habits have changed from drinking only in the weekends into taking a glass
or more even during the week. Consequenly, the habits have changed into
being more similar as other European countries with other tax policies. In
the smaller sites in Norway, however, an increased frequency of drinking
home-made liquar was seen because it was cheap.
To-day a doctorial thesis was presented in the newspaper about the smoking
habits among youngsters. An increasing frequency has been found,especially
among girls. The adolescents' smoking was found to be associated to the
parents' smoking habits. That means, it does not count what we are saying
to our children and that money do not play a significant role, but what we
actually do ourself is what really matters. The moral is then that the
parents has to be conscious about the modelling role they have for their
children. Thus, it is really a private responsibility.
In the meantime, our society earn a lot of money through the taxes on
alcohol and cigarettes. The argument for keeping the taxes, is still that
it will restrict the usage of alcohol and sigarettes, and that it is an
official responsibility. I think this will continue, especially now when
our prime minister is belonging a Christian party.
With best regards
Anne Marit Mengshoel
PR/researcher
National Hospital in Oslo
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