Norway's health minister Sylvi Listhaug (pictured) has stoked controversy after saying people should be allowed to eat, smoke and drink 'as much as they want'

Norway's newly-appointed health minister has stoked controversy after saying people should be allowed to eat, smoke and drink 'as much as they want'.

Sylvi Listhaug, who was also elected first vice-chair of the right-wing Progress Party, claims she does not want to take up the role of the 'moral police' and refuses to tell people 'how to live their lives'.

The 41-year-old, who admits to enjoying the odd cigarette, added smokers are made to 'hide away' when they should have 'the right to decide for themselves' whether or not they quit.

Critics have hit back at Mrs Listhaug's comments, calling her policies 'scary' and accusing her of setting Norway's health back 'many decades'.

Mrs Listhaug told the Norwegian broadcasting company NRK: 'People should be allowed to smoke, drink and eat as much red meat they just want. People know pretty much what is healthy and what is not.

'I do not plan to be a moral police and will not tell people how to live their lives, but I intend to help people get information that forms the basis for making choices.'

Mrs Listhaug went on to say smokers are made to feel like 'pariahs' who have to 'hide away'.

Although she admitted smoking is 'harmful', the mother-of-three added the habit should be a personal choice and we should 'respect' those who choose not to quit.

Mrs Listhaug also rebuked a suggestion to expand Norway's smoking ban to certain outdoor places, such as bus stops.

'Where do we end up sending these smokers?', she said. 'Should they have to walk in the woods, on top of a mountain or down the quay?'

Mrs Listhaug's comments have been met with outrage, with some even claiming her unorthodox approach to public health could harm Norway's progress.

Critics have hit back at Mrs Listhaug's comments, calling her policies 'scary' and accusing her of setting Norway's health back 'many decades'

Anne Lise Ryel, secretary general of Norway's Cancer Society, told NRK: 'It seems she has little understanding of what public health really is and what her task as minister in that area is.

'Many will adhere to what she says. That is to say, public health is set many decades back.'

And personal trainer Anki Eie, who works at a gym in Drammen, called Mrs Listhaug's comments 'scary', adding they will 'break down our health' in another interview with NRK.

Mrs Listhaug is, however, planning to introduce a 'tobacco strategy' that targets young people who are thinking of taking up smoking.

She went on to say she quit the habit in 2007 and only lights up 'occasionally' at parties.

Mrs Listhaug then added such social gatherings are few and far between as she juggles her family and work commitments.

The Norwegian Government has appointed Mrs Listhaug to be its Minister of Elderly and Public Health.

She will oversee the policies behind care services; public health; the promotion and prevention of both mental and physical health; social inequality in health, nutrition and food safety; alcohol, drug and tobacco prevention; and disease control.

Mrs Listhaug served as Norway's first Minister of Immigration and Integration from 2015-to-2018 in a specially created position during the European migrant crisis.

She stepped down from the role in March last year after causing an uproar when she accused the opposition Labour Party of putting 'terrorists' rights' before national security.

Mrs Listhaug made the comments when Labour and the Christian Democrats helped defeat a bill that would have given the state the right to strip individuals of Norwegian citizenship if they were suspected of terrorism or joining foreign militant groups.

Johannes Bergh, head of the Norwegian national election studies program at the Institute of Social Research in Oslo, called Mrs Listhaug 'polarising' and 'a more right-wing populist than other Norwegian politicians'.

Speaking of Europe's migration crisis, Mrs Listhaug has been quoted as saying 'the tyranny of kindness is blowing over Norwegian society like a nightmare'.

She also announced plans in 2016 to jail migrants in Norway with 'obviously groundless' asylum claims for up to 72 hours to stop them escaping into the criminal underworld while their cases are being processed.

Mrs Listhaug even claimed terror attacks in Brussels and Paris in recent years took place because France and Belgium allowed 'ghettos' of immigrants. She argued Norway needs a 'tight immigration policy' in order to avoid the same fate.