Report to the Conference of the Parties on the Implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

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Part V: Program and Plans

• 8. Research, Surveillance and Exchange of Information (Training and Surveys)
  
  1. Training and support for all those engaged in tobacco control activities, including research, implementation and evaluation
  2. Programmes for national, regional and global surveillance of the magnitude, patterns, determinants and consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke
     (b.1) Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS)
     (b.2) Youth Smoking Survey (YSS)
     (b.3) Northern Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (NTUMS)
     (b.4) Yukon Youth Smoking Survey (YYSS)
  3. A national system for epidemiological surveillance of tobacco consumption and related social, economic and health indicators
     (c.1) Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)
     (c.2) National Population Health Survey (NPHS)
     (c.3) Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS)
  4. The exchange of publicly available scientific, technical, socioeconomic, commercial and legal information, as well as information regarding the practices of the tobacco industry and the cultivation of tobacco
  5. An updated database of laws and regulations on tobacco control, and information about their enforcement, as well as pertinent jurisprudence

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8. Research, Surveillance and Information Exchange

(a) Training and support for all those engaged in tobacco control activities, including research, implementation and evaluation

Training and support is offered at a variety of levels in Canada, including support for students doing research in the area of tobacco control (refer under Part IV, section 2. (d) of the report).

Funding is provided through the Tobacco Control Programme's Grant and Contribution Programme to organizations involved in tobacco control at the national, regional and community level. The areas of research, program implementation and evaluation of programs and activities are all funded through the Contribution Programme. These activities are too numerous to mention within this report, however, information is available on the Health Canada website at www.gosmokefree.ca

Canada also regularly hosts  national tobacco control conferences which are a key forum for training and support for those working in tobacco control (visit www.ncth.ca for more information). Regional tobacco control conferences (i.e. the Ontario Tobacco Control Conference) and regional workshops through groups such as the Program Training and Consultation Centre (Ontario) and National Indian and Inuit Community Health Representatives Organization (NIICHRO) are other means through which tobacco training is provided.

(b) Programmes for national, regional and global surveillance of the magnitude, patterns, determinants and consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke

The Tobacco Control Programme at Health Canada has an Office of Research, Surveillance and Evaluation to track the patterns and determinants of tobacco consumption and of exposure to tobacco smoke.

(b.1) Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS)

The  Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey was designed to provide timely, reliable and continual federal and provincial access to important information related to tobacco use in Canada, especially for populations most at risk for taking up smoking, such as 15-24 year olds. Since February 1999, CTUMS has provided six-month and annual data on changes in smoking status and amount smoked, both nationally and provincially. Seven full years of tobacco use data on Canadians has now been collected by CTUMS: full-years 1999 to 2005. In addition to tracking changes in smoking status and amount smoked, CTUMS captures information on quit attempts and methods used for quitting and also tracks exposure to secondhand smoke. See Appendix 1-B for a copy of the survey and a factsheet on survey methodology.

Results from the survey are posted semi-annually on the Health Canada website at: www.gosmokefree.ca

(b.2) Youth Smoking Survey (YSS)

The Youth Smoking Survey provides timely and accurate monitoring of the tobacco use in school aged children (grades 5-9). The first national Youth Smoking Survey was carried out in the fall of 1994 and provided data on smoking status and number of cigarettes smoked for children aged 10 to19 years. Since 1999, smoking behaviour of 15-19 year olds has been monitored annually by the  Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey. It is generally recognized that this is the population most at risk for trying tobacco products. Since any cigarette smoking, including just a few puffs (but not a whole cigarette) is an important indicator of future smoking in youth much of the analysis focuses on those who have ever tried smoking at all, even just a few puffs.

The YSS is a more comprehensive survey than Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) and was designed to meet Canadian needs and provide information on smoking trends in Canadian school aged youth comparable to that in CTUMS.

See Appendix 1-F for a copy of the YSS survey tool as well as a factsheet on methodology.

(b.3) Northern Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (NTUMS)

Residents of Canada's three northern territories are currently excluded from the CTUMS. To address this gap, Health Canada designated additional funding to support the territories to conduct tobacco surveillance activities. The Northwest Territories Bureau of Statistics completed the Northern Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey in 2004. This survey provides a means of comparing tobacco use in the Northwest Territories to data collected through CTUMS. The main objective of NTUMS was to provide timely, reliable and continual data on tobacco use and related issues for residents of the Northwest Territories.

Please see Appendix 1-C for a copy of the results of this survey and a copy of the survey questionnaire.

(b.4) Yukon Youth Smoking Survey (YYSS)

Residents of Canada's three northern territories are currently excluded from the YSS. To address this gap, Health Canada designated additional funding to support the territories to conduct tobacco surveillance activities. The Yukon Youth Smoking Survey was conducted in 2003 by the Yukon Bureau of Statistics on behalf of the Yukon Health Promotion Unit with funding by Health Canada. The objectives of the survey were to gather data on the prevalence of smoking among 10 to 14 year olds (grades 5-9) to form an overall picture of smoking behavior in the Yukon and to provide data as an aid to the Health Promotion Unit for future information/education efforts with respect to smoking.

The final version of the Yukon Youth Smoking Survey, including methodology is available on the following website (see Appendix 1-F for a hard copy):http://www.hss.gov.yk.ca/downloads/yyssfinal.pdf(PDF Version)

(c) A national system for epidemiological surveillance of tobacco consumption and related social, economic and health indicators

In addition to CTUMS, which primarily tracks trends in tobacco consumption and exposure to second-hand smoke, a number of key surveys are currently in place that help to track social, economic and health indicators, these include:

(c.1) Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)

The Canadian Community Health Survey is a cross-sectional survey that collects information related to health status, health care utilization and health determinants for the Canadian population. One of the main objectives of CCHS is to fill data gaps in the areas of health determinants, health status and health system utilization - at the health region level. The CCHS began collection in September 2000. Each two-year collection cycle is comprised of two distinct surveys: a health region-level survey in the first year and a provincial-level survey in the second year.

 Information and results from the survey are available at: http://www.statcan.ca/english/concepts/health/cchsinfo.htm

(c.2) National Population Health Survey (NPHS)

The National Population Health Survey is a longitudinal survey on the health of Canadians. Conducted by Statistics Canada since 1994-95, the survey is designed to measure the health status of Canadians and to add to the existing body of knowledge about the determinants of health. The NPHS, which relies on respondents' self-reported health information, surveys the same group of respondents every two years for up to 20 years. A number of the NPHS questions are directly related to tobacco.

For more information, visit  the Statistics Canada website at: http://www.statcan.ca/english/concepts/nphs/nphs1.htm

(c.3) Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS)

The Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) is a cross-sectional survey and will collect numerous physical measures and gather information by survey questionnaire beginning in 2007. The goal is to carry out a physical measurement survey that will provide nationally representative population-based statistics, by age and gender that describe the health of Canadians. These data are necessary for informed decision making, policy development, and health monitoring. The objectives of the survey are to estimate the prevalence and statistical distributions of selected biochemical nutritional status indicators, anthropometric indicators, physical fitness and physical function indicators, risk factors and indicators of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, lung function, human levels of selected environmental pollutants, and exposure to selected infectious agents.

Data from the survey will be available beginning in 2009.  More information on the survey is available at: http://www.statcan.ca/english/concepts/hs/measures.htm

(d) The exchange of publicly available scientific, technical, socioeconomic, commercial and legal information, as well as information regarding the practices of the tobacco industry and the cultivation of tobacco

Health Canada hosts an in-depth website on tobacco control, including information on research, evaluation, legislation, programs and policy (www.gosmokefree.ca). The website also provides information on sales data for tobacco and official test methods for the determination of constituents and emissions of tobacco products.

A number of non-governmental organizations who receive funding through Health Canada regularly post and make available documents that touch on all of the elements listed above.

More information is available on the NGO websites at:

•  Canadian Council for Tobacco Control (www.cctc.ca)
•  Non-Smokers' Rights Association (www.nsra-adnf.ca)
• Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (www.gosmokefree.ca)

Provincial and territorial government websites contain information on provincial tobacco control strategies and any research pertinent to their respective jurisdictions.

(e) An updated database of laws and regulations on tobacco control, and information about their enforcement, as well as pertinent jurisprudence

 The Canadian Council for Tobacco Control received funding from Health Canada to develop the "Canadian Law and Tobacco" section of their website (www.cctc.ca). This site contains laws that are specific to tobacco and smoking, or significant tobacco-related provisions that are contained within legislation that is not tobacco-specific (e.g., occupational health laws). It also contains information on enforcement, categorized by jurisdiction.

The website at this time does not cover the following:

• tobacco tax legislation or regulations, including tax rates and anti-smuggling provisions;
• every piece of federal, provincial or territorial legislation that has provisions dealing with tobacco or tobacco use;
• municipal smoking bylaws.

 Justice Canada also maintains a complete listing of all federal legislation, statutes and regulations. This website is available at: www.justice.gc.ca

In addition, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as well as the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) maintain independent, restricted databases of their enforcement activities.