The Norwegian government said on Tuesday it would present a bill to parliament in the first part of June proposing the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products in the Nordic country.

Norway’s minister of health and care services, Bent Hoie, made the announcement at an event marking the World No Tobacco Day organized by the health ministry, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Norwegian Cancer Society.

He told Xinhua he expected to receive a positive response from a majority in the parliament before Christmas and if passed, the bill would be implemented in 2017.

“We are moving slowly towards the smoke-free generation. Statistics from last year show that only four percent of Norwegian young people between the age of 16 and 24 smoked daily and only 30 percent occasionally,” Hoie said in the announcement.

“However, the consumption of smokeless tobacco snus has increased a lot in Norway and 30 percent of men and 18 percent of women use snus, which is proven to be as dangerous as smoking to human fetuses, according to a new Swedish research,” he said.

The plain packaging would be introduced as a way to reduce smoking. The packaging would be dark green, proven to be people’s least favorite color, Hoie said, and there will be no logos or designs.

Anne Lise Ryel, secretary general of the Norwegian Cancer Society, said the tobacco industry used consumers’ emotions to advertize their products and plain packaging would remove the power of this advertizing.

“Plain packaging is one of the most important steps towards a tobacco-free society. There are six million people that die annually of use of this unnecessary product,” Ryel told the international gathering, which included representatives from Australia and Britain.

Australia, Britain, France and Ireland have passed laws to implement plain packaging and many other countries are considering the same.

Norway is the first Scandinavian country that openly supported Australia as the first country in the world to implement plain packaging in 2012.

Kylie Lindorff, manager of tobacco control policy at Cancer Council Victoria in Australia, said tens of thousands of Australian lives had been saved in the country thanks to the plain packaging measure, and reports show fewer young people starting to smoke.

“Plain packaging has contributed in three ways: it helped to reduce the appeal of tobacco products, increased effectiveness of health warnings and reduced the ability of the tobacco packs to mislead the consumers,” Lindorff said.

She noted that the standardized packaging had not led to the negative predictions of the tobacco industry.

“Plain packaging did not result in small businesses losing their customers, price drop, nor increased tobacco use,” Lindorff said, expressing the hope other Scandinavian countries would follow the Norwegian example.

(Xinhua)

Anders Anundsen, Norway’s Minister of Justice and Public Security, unveiled the AgustaWestland AW101 Norwegian all-weather search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter during a roll out ceremony held at Leonardo Helicopters’ Yeovil facility in southwest England. Leonardo-Finmeccanica Photo

Leonardo-Finmeccanica has announced the AgustaWestland AW101 Norwegian all-weather search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter was recently unveiled by Anders Anundsen, Norway’s Minister of Justice and Public Security, during a roll out ceremony held at Leonardo Helicopters’ Yeovil facility in southwest England.

“This roll out ceremony marks the accomplishment of a very important milestone,” said Anundsen. “The helicopter that will be an important and crucial resource for the Norwegian rescue service is now complete and ready for testing. I am very pleased with the effort made by Leonardo Helicopters so far.”

“This aircraft, the latest version of the AW101, can claim to be the world’s most capable and advanced SAR helicopter in the world,” said Daniele Romiti, managing director, Leonardo Helicopters. “The combination of the platform’s large cabin, exceptional performance and all-weather capabilities along with the very latest advanced sensors and mission equipment give the aircraft unmatched capabilities.

“We look forward to starting deliveries next year and the AW101 taking over life-saving duties from the Westland Sea King that has served Norway for more than 40 years, saving thousands of lives.”

Aircraft deliveries to the Royal Norwegian Air Force, who will fly and operate the helicopters, will start in March 2017 and continue through to 2020. As part of the contract, a 15-year “turnkey” support solution will be delivered, comprising spares, technical support and training services.

Aircraft deliveries to the Royal Norwegian Air Force, who will fly and operate the helicopters, will start in March 2017 and continue through to 2020. Leonardo-Finmeccanica Photo

The aircraft is equipped with an advanced SAR equipment package including Leonardo-Finmeccanica’s newly-launched Osprey active electronically scanned array radar. Based around a flat-panel antenna design, Osprey is the world’s first lightweight airborne surveillance radar to be built with no moving parts and will provide a 360-degree field-of-view for crews.

Other equipment includes a four-axis digital automatic flight control system, two rescue hoists, searchlight, electro optical device, mobile telephone detection system and a fully integrated avionics and mission system.

The aircraft is equipped with advanced systems that enhance flight safety including a Laser Obstacle Avoidance System and Obstacle Proximity LiDAR System, which provide warnings of wires and other obstacles.

The large cabin doors and rear ramp provide easy access for personnel, survivors and equipment into the 27-cubic-meter cabin, which has stand-up head room throughout.

The AW101 benefits from three-engine safety, a full ice protection system for flight in known icing conditions, long range and endurance, a proven 30-minute “run dry” gearbox as well as multiple redundancy features in the avionic and mission systems.

Cyberhawk Innovations, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and drone inspection and survey specialist, has signed a partnership agreement Norwegian UAV operator Nordic Unmanned.

This will give customers in Norway access to Cyberhawk’s cloud-based asset management software iHawk.
iHawk converts UAV-captured images into asset management information in the cloud.

It is said to provide intuitive access to inspection data using a simple map-based interface, demonstrating the status of the asset using a traffic light system and allowing the user to probe for further engineering commentary and evidence.

In 2013, Cyberhawk performed the first drone inspection offshore Norway of a flare on an FPSO. The two companies have since completed other projects for operators in the sector.

Nordic Unmanned has more than 50 years of experience in remotely-operated technology, and more than 30 years in offshore/onshore oil and gas competencies.