Norway is to be one of the first countries in the world to bring in a national ban on smoking in restaurants, bars and cafes.
As a campaign is launched to prepare the Norwegian public for the change, Dr Gro Harlem Bruntland, the country’s former premier and until recently, the head of the World Health Organisation, has challenged ministers in Britain to become more bold with their anti-smoking laws.
The aim of the Norwegian ban is not only to protect staff that work in these establishments from the harmful effects of passive smoking, but also to “de-normalise” smoking as a social pastime. It will come into force next summer – some consolation for smokers who will have to take their habit outside and puff away in temperatures of minus 20 degrees during the harsh Scandinavian winters. Other countries like the Netherlands are on course to follow Norway’s lead.

Bold moves needed
Britain, however, is unlikely to do likewise. Ministers have made it clear they favour voluntary smoking bans – fearful that they will be accused of running a “nanny state”.
They have signed up to the first worldwide convention on tobacco control. But Dr Bruntland made it clear in a interview with the BBC that for Britain stronger moves are needed. She warned ministers that unless they were prepared to face political “discomfort” they wouldn’t be going far enough – and would make little headway in getting smoking rates down.  “If we hadn’t made bold steps – steps that in the beginning were opposed – we would not be where we are today,” she said.
“Unless you have to struggle and fight for it then you are probably not going far enough.” Tobacco advertising has been prohibited in Norway for 30 years, and in 1988 an amendment to the Tobacco Act ensured restaurants and bars had to be 50% smoke free from 1998. However, the moves seem to have had little effect.
One in three people in the country smoke, and there has been a rise in tobacco-related deaths.  A packet of cigarettes costs about £6 in Norway – but people can still afford to smoke, as the country has the highest per capita income in the world. Now ministers have decided the time has come for radical action.

Setting a lead
Bjorn Inge Larsson, from Norway’s health department, is confident Norway is setting a lead which other countries will soon follow. “Most countries will have this kind of regulation within a few years.” A spokesman for Tiedemanns, Norway’s biggest tobacco firm, argues that a total ban on lighting up in product places is going too far.
“There is full information in society, and has been for 50 years that is a harmful product and everyone knows. It is a personal choice whether you use it or not.”
But industry whistleblower Dr Jeffrey Weigand backs the Norwegian stance. His testimony to congress in the mid-1990s proved US tobacco giants had chemically enhanced cigarettes. “This is an industry that has manipulated and tricked and obfuscated, and smuggled. It truly needs to be regulated.” Ireland has just passed legislation paving the way to outlaw smoking in a similar way. But pub landlords in nine of the Republic’s 26 counties have passed motions in parliament criticising the move – and some have vowed to risk heavy fines by ignoring the law. The Netherlands plans to initiate a ban next year and Sweden and Finland are still debating the issue.

Norwegian educational policy is rooted in the principle of equal rights to education for all members of society, regardless of their social and cultural background or where in Norway they live. It is the role of the schools to convey both knowledge and culture, as well as to promote social mobility and provide a basis for wealth creation and welfare for all.

Teaching at Norwegian schools is to be adapted to the abilities and skills of the individual pupils. Special education is available for persons with disabilities or those with special needs who are otherwise unable to participate in ordinary school teaching activities. As a result of the increase in immigration, the number of pupils belonging to language minorities is on the rise. Norwegian education policy stipulates that consideration be given to the special needs of language minority pupils in order to better enable them to complete upper secondary education and pursue higher education and employment.

The Storting (Norwegian national assembly) and the Government are responsible for specifying the objectives and establishing the budgetary frameworks for the education sector. The Ministry of Education and Research is the administrative agency in charge of educational matters, and is responsible for implementing national educational policy. Norway has a unified school system based on a common standard. A national curriculum has been introduced to help to ensure that government educational standards are met.

Compulsory education in Norway is ten years, and consists of primary and lower secondary education. Upper secondary education is optional. The responsibility for ensuring that appropriate schooling is accessible to children, young people and adults in all municipalities and counties has been assigned to educational authorities in the county administration. The individual municipalities are in charge of operating primary and lower secondary schools, while the upper secondary schools are administered at the county level.

The higher education sector comprises educational programmes at the universities and university colleges. Admission to these programmes is normally contingent upon completion of three years of upper secondary education. With the exception of a few privately-run institutes, all institutions of higher education are operated by the state. However, each institution enjoys a large degree of academic and administrative autonomy.

Public education in Norway is free up to and including the upper secondary level. Tuition for higher education programmes at state-run institutions is normally minimal. The State Educational Loan Fund was founded in 1947, and provides student loans and grants for living costs to those attending higher education programmes. Support is also available for Norwegian students who wish to pursue part or all of their education abroad.

Independent, private schools provide a supplement to the public school system. The Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education authorizes such schools according to stipulated quality criteria. The academic programmes at independent schools must satisfy the requirements set out in the relevant regulations. Authorized independent private schools are eligible for government funding.