Manufacturers have been banned from adding flavours to cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and vape liquids as part of a reform of the Tobacco Act in 2016, however the act also includes a flavour ban on both tobacco and vaping products. This includes a ban on flavoured cards that can be put inside a cigarette pack to add candy flavours. However, businesses have until April 2023 to sell products that are already in stores and warehouses.
From now on, manufacturers and importers of products mentioned in the Tobacco Act, will have to pay an annual control fee to Valvira, the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health. The fee will be based on sales volumes and the revenue accrued would go towards tobacco control.
Smoking among different socioeconomic groups
Meanwhile a recent study reviewed by the University of Helsinki, found that in Finland, citizens belonging to lower socioeconomic groups are more likely to smoke than their peers in higher groups.
The study analysed population data covering a 40-year period from 1978 to 2017, and the number of respondents across the different surveys varied from fewer than 1,000 to around 400,000. Consistent with data from around the world, the research highlighted the need for tobacco to to take into account such disparities.
“We know smoking has directly adverse effects on human health. Based on the study, it can be said that if this trend continues, so too will the growth of health inequalities,” said Otto Ruokolainen, an expert at the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and author of the study based on the findings indicating that this gap has already grown. The research also indicated that increasing tobacco prices is a motivating factor for smokers to quit.
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