Tobacco use among Swedish schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVE To study the prevalence of snus use and of smoking among Swedish schoolchildren from 1989 to 2003. DESIGN Surveys conducted by the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs. SETTING All of Sweden. SUBJECTS 84,472 boys and girls age 15-16 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Subjects are classified as non-smokers, occasional smokers, and regular smokers, and into three similar categories for snus use. Tobacco use is reported as sex specific prevalence. RESULTS During the period 1989 to 2003, the prevalence of tobacco use declined both among boys and girls. For boys, regular smoking declined after 1992 from 10% to 4%. Their snus use was about 10% in the 1990s but increased to 13% by 2003. Regular smoking among girls was 20% in early years and declined to 15%. Smoking among girls was always double that among boys. Patterns of occasional tobacco use were similar to those of regular use. CONCLUSIONS The high prevalence of snus use in Sweden not only reduces smoking rates among Swedish men, but suppresses smoking among boys as well.