Assignments to the Swedish National Institute of Public Health

This is the basic governing document for the Swedish National Institute of Public Health. The main features of the assignment are summarized below.

Assignments:

The Swedish National Institute for Public Health is tasked with promoting health and preventing disease and injury. An emphasis is placed on groups that are vulnerable for the most significant health risks. The Institute shall stand on scientifically founded principles.

The Institute shall:

• have comprehensive, cross-sectoral responsibility for following the development of public health’s determining factors
• evaluate efforts in the public health policy’s target areas
• act as a national knowledge center for methods and strategies in the public health area
• have responsibility for supervision over alcohol, narcotics, and tobacco as well as health-endangering substances.

The Institute shall importantly:

1. be responsible for permit issuing and supervision according to the alcohol law (1994:1738) and the law (1999:42) prohibiting certain health-endangering substances
2. watch over and evaluate the need for narcotic classification of substances which are not of a medicopharmaceutical nature, as well as watch over and evaluate the need for control of substances which fall under the law prohibiting certain health-endangering substances
3. be responsible for supervision of tobacco according to tobacco law (1993:581)
4. have responsibility for control of documentation etc. during transport of wine according to regulation (1999:1148) of the EG’s regulation of farm-based products
5. ensure that rules and routines that the Institute is responsible for are cost-effective and comprehensible for citizens and companies
6. provide the government with information and a foundation for decision-making that includes analysis of socioeconomic aspects
7. analyze the development of factors determining health and how they are divided by sex, ethnic and/or cultural background, socioeconomic grouping, sexual orientation or identity, disability status, and age
8. compile and spread research results to municipalities, county councils, and the non-profit sector regarding effective methods and strategies in the public health arena, especially regarding  factors affecting children and youths’ growth and development, health-promoting medical care systems, sexuality and reproductive health, physical activity, food habits and nutrition, tobacco, alcohol and narcotics, doping and excessive gambling, as well as supporting the application of these strategies and methods
9. contribute to the development of both health economics-based methods in the area of public health and methods for the observation of public health aspects in consequence assessment and local welfare budgeting, as well as support the implementation of these methods
10. promote access to statistics of good quality within the alcohol, narcotics and tobacco areas.