About 29 percent of the country's 17- to 29-year-olds surveyed had smoked sometime in the past month, says the study "Tobacco habits in Sweden 2003-2018" from the Central Association for Alcohol and Tobacco Habits, CAN. That is more than twice as many as any other age group. The majority of young adults who smoke say they do it sporadically.

The most difficult to resist is the temptation to smoke when it is a party.

- It is in this age group that you party the most. People often live in environments where alcohol is served, and sometimes choose to try smoking, which could be an explanation, says Martina Zetterqvist, investigator at CAN.

Fewer smokers

In 2005, smoking was prohibited indoors in premises serving food and drink. From July 1, 2019, the law was extended to include outdoor dining at restaurants, bus stops and playgrounds. Since CAN began measuring Swedish tobacco habits in 2003, daily cigarette use has been halved. In contrast, the occasional smoking has in principle been unchanged.

- Previous tax increases and restrictions on tobacco have had an impact on daily smoking. But it apparently did not affect the occasional smoking. It could possibly do the new law.

Sniffing is increasing

One tobacco habit that tends to increase among young adults is snus, which also constitutes the largest group of users. Since the use of snuff went down between 2007-2011, it has steadily increased again over the past six-seven years to the same levels as ten years ago. In 2018, 25 percent of men between the ages of 17 and 29 stated that they sniffed in the past month, which is four times more than the women, where six percent answered yes. Seen to the entire population, 16 percent said they sniffed last month.

The report is based on measurements made since 2003, each year around 18,000 telephone interviews have been conducted with 17 to 84 year olds.