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Home > Health Concerns > Tobacco > Research > Tobacco Use Statistics

Health Concerns

Overview of Historical Data, 1999-2008

Table 1 - Percentage of current smokers, by age group and sex, age 15+ years, Canada 1999 to 2008
Age Group
(years)		 Sex 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
15+ Both Sexes 25 24 22 21 21 20 19 19 19 18
Male 27 26 24 23 23 22 22 20 20 20
Female 23 23 20 20 18 17 16 17 18 16
 
15-19 Both Sexes 28 25 23 22 18 18 18 15 15 15
20-24 35 32 32 31 30 28 26 27 25 27
25-34 30 28 25 27 27 28 24 24 21 21
35-44 30 31 25 24 24 22 23 20 20 19
45-54 24 23 23 21 22 19 20 22 23 21
55+ 15 15 13 13 12 11 10 11 14 12
 
15-17 23 21 18 18 15 14 14 11 10 10
18-19 34 31 29 28 24 26 25 22 23 23
20-22 38 33 24 39 31 27 26 27 24 26
23-24 31 31 30 32 30 29 26 27 27 29
25+ 24 24 21 20 20 19 18 18 19 17
Table 2 - Percentage of current smokers, by province and age group, age 15+ years, Canada 1999 to 2008
Age Group
(years)		 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Newfoundland and Labrador 15+ 28 28 26 24 23 22 21 22 21 20
15-19 30 28 22 22 22 21 19 16 17 15
20-24 37 40 41 36 34 34 28 33 31 28
25-44 35 38 32 30 29 29 23 28 26 25
45+ 21 16 18 18 17 15 18 17 18 17
 
Prince Edward Island 15+ 26 26 26 23 21 21 20 19 18 19
15-19 28 21 20 19 20 17 13 14 13 14
20-24 37 36 35 35 32 31 32 31 25 31
25-44 30 33 31 30 26 27 26 25 20 21
45+ 19 19 21 16 16 16 15 15 17 17
 
Nova Scotia 15+ 29 30 25 25 22 20 21 22 20 20
15-19 30 25 27 20 18 20 13 15 13 14
20-24 37 37 31 34 35 33 27 33 29 26
25-44 36 38 31 31 26 19 30 29 24 24
45+ 21 22 19 21 18 14 15 16 18 17
 
New Brunswick 15+ 26 27 25 21 24 24 22 23 21 20
15-19 27 30 25 18 22 18 18 16 17 14
20-24 36 36 39 31 32 32 30 32 24 29
25-44 30 31 33 27 31 32 29 26 29 23
45+ 21 20 16 15 18 18 16 20 17 18
 
Quebec 15+ 30 28 24 26 25 22 22 20 22 19
15-19 36 30 29 32 26 24 23 18 17 17
20-24 39 38 32 36 36 34 32 30 32 31
25-44 33 34 31 28 30 28 26 19 25 23
45+ 25 21 16 24 19 16 18 19 19 15
 
Ontario 15+ 23 23 20 20 20 19 16 17 18 17
15-19 25 25 19 19 14 17 16 12 13 13
20-24 34 28 31 29 30 24 21 25 22 27
25-44 29 28 21 24 23 26 22 21 18 18
45+ 16 17 17 14 16 12 11 12 18 14
 
Manitoba 15+ 23 26 26 21 21 21 22 20 20 21
15-19 29 25 28 23 20 21 20 20 20 17
20-24 32 37 37 33 29 26 33 32 31 25
25-44 30 31 30 25 28 23 26 24 24 25
45+ 14 19 20 16 14 18 18 15 15 18
 
Saskatchewan 15+ 26 28 25 21 24 22 22 24 24 20
15-19 31 24 27 29 28 25 25 21 22 20
20-24 32 36 38 34 34 29 36 31 31 27
24-44 31 37 30 26 28 28 26 30 30 23
45+ 19 20 19 13 19 15 16 19 19 17
 
Alberta 15+ 26 23 25 23 20 20 21 21 21 20
15-19 26 24 24 19 18 16 19 15 20 16
20-24 40 29 34 30 31 28 27 30 27 29
24-44 28 26 29 26 26 22 26 25 23 21
45+ 20 16 19 19 12 18 15 18 18 18
 
British Columbia 15+ 20 20 17 16 16 15 15 16 14 15
15-19 20 18 17 15 14 13 14 12 9 15
20-24 29 28 27 22 20 26 24 24 18 21
24-44 26 24 19 21 21 16 18 20 15 15
45+ 13 15 13 12 13 13 11 13 14 14
Table 3 - Percentage of daily smokers, by age group and sex, age 15+ years, Canada 1999 to 2008
Age Group
(years)		 Sex 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
15+ Both Sexes 21 20 18 18 17 15 15 14 15 13
Male 23 21 20 19 19 17 18 15 16 15
Female 19 18 16 16 14 13 12 13 14 12
15-19 Both Sexes 20 18 16 16 14 13 12 13 14 12
20-24 28 25 24 23 21 20 19 18 17 18
25-34 24 23 21 21 21 21 18 16 16 14
35-44 25 25 21 21 19 18 20 16 18 15
45-54 21 19 20 18 19 16 17 18 20 18
55+ 13 12 12 12 10 9 8 9 11 9
 
15-17 16 15 13 14 9 7 8 6 6 5
18-19 26 22 21 21 16 17 17 14 15 14
20-22 29 25 26 22 22 19 18 18 16 18
23-24 25 25 22 24 20 21 19 19 19 20
25+ 20 20 18 17 17 15 15 14 16 13
Table 4 - Percentage of daily smokers, by province and age group, age 15+ years, Canada 1999 to 2008
  Age Group
(years)		 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Newfoundland and Labrador 15+ 24 24 22 21 19 17 17 17 18 16
15-19 21 21 15 18 17 12 14 11 12 10
20-24 30 32 31 31 27 25 23 24 21 20
25-44 30 34 27 25 23 23 17 15 22 21
45+ 18 15 17 16 14 12 15 14 15 14
 
Prince Edward Island 15+ 21 22 22 20 18 17 16 15 15 16
15-19 19 16 17 13 14 11 10 8 8 8
20-24 30 28 29 31 24 24 26 21 19 22
25-44 26 29 28 26 23 23 20 21 17 18
45+ 16 17 18 14 14 13 13 13 14 15
 
Nova Scotia 15+ 25 26 21 22 19 15 17 18 17 16
15-19 22 19 19 16 14 11 8 9 9 8
20-24 31 31 27 25 28 23 19 24 19 20
25-44 33 33 26 27 23 19 24 24 20 20
45+ 18 20 17 18 16 12 13 14 16 15
 
New Brunswick 15+ 22 23 22 19 21 21 18 19 18 17
15-19 19 23 19 13 17 13 13 10 12 11
20-24 29 29 32 25 27 23 22 22 19 21
25-44 26 28 29 24 27 28 25 22 24 19
45+ 18 18 15 14 16 16 13 17 14 16
 
Quebec 15+ 25 23 20 22 20 17 19 16 17 16
15-19 25 21 20 25 17 14 15 11 11 10
20-24 31 31 25 27 25 23 22 23 21 22
25-44 28 29 25 24 23 21 24 15 20 17
45+ 22 18 15 19 16 13 15 17 16 14
 
Ontario 15+ 19 18 16 16 16 14 13 12 15 12
15-19 18 17 14 13 8 10 9 7 8 7
20-24 27 21 23 22 19 17 15 15 14 18
25-44 24 22 17 20 18 20 18 16 15 12
45+ 13 13 15 12 14 9 10 10 15 11
 
Manitoba 15+ 19 22 21 17 16 16 17 15 15 16
15-19 22 19 23 15 12 14 13 10 11 9
20-24 24 31 26 25 22 18 25 22 21 17
25-44 24 27 25 20 22 18 20 18 17 19
45+ 13 16 16 14 11 15 14 12 14 15
 
Saskatchewan 15+ 21 25 21 17 20 18 18 18 19 16
15-19 23 19 20 21 22 15 16 12 13 11
20-24 27 31 30 25 24 23 28 25 21 20
24-44 26 33 25 19 22 24 23 23 23 20
45+ 16 19 16 12 16 13 13 15 17 14
 
Alberta 15+ 22 20 21 18 16 16 16 16 16 16
15-19 21 21 18 16 11 10 13 9 14 9
20-24 33 23 27 21 22 22 19 20 19 21
24-44 24 24 25 20 20 17 20 20 18 17
45+ 17 16 16 16 10 16 12 14 15 15
 
British Columbia 15+ 16 16 14 13 13 12 11 12 11 10
15-19 14 13 11 11 9 6 9 6 6 9
20-24 20 21 19 15 14 18 17 14 12 12
24-44 20 19 15 16 15 12 12 12 13 11
45+ 12 12 12 10 11 11 9 12 11 10
Table 5 - Percentage of current and daily smokers, by education, age 15+ years, Canada 1999 to 2008
  Educational Level 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Current Smoker Secondary 29 30 26 24 23 21 21 21 20 21
Completed Secondary 28 27 24 24 24 22 22 23 23 22
Completed College 23 25 22 21 22 21 20 19 20 19
Completed University 17 14 13 13 13 14 11 11 12 10
 
Daily Smoker Secondary 25 25 20 21 19 17 18 17 17 17
Completed Secondary 23 23 20 20 20 17 18 18 19 17
Completed College 19 19 19 16 17 16 17 14 16 14
Completed University 12 10 10 10 9 9 7 7 9 6
Table 6 - Average number of cigarettes smoked per day among daily smokers, by age group and sex, age 15+ years, Canada 1999 to 2008
Age Group
(years)		 Sex 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
15+ Both Sexes 17.4 16.8 16.2 16.4 15.9 15.2 15.7 15.5 15.5 14.9
Male 18.6 19.0 17.1 17.9 17.3 16.4 17.2 16.9 17.0 16.4
Female 15.9 14.4 15.0 14.8 14.0 13.8 13.7 13.8 13.7 13.0
15-19 Both Sexes 13.1 12.7 12.9 12.9 12.3 11.6 11.0 12.3 11.7 12.2
20-24 15.0 12.7 12.9 12.9 12.3 11.6 11.0 12.3 11.7 12.2
25-34 15.8 16.2 14.4 14.2 15.0 13.6 14.4 13.8 13.2 13.2
35-44 19.0 17.6 17.9 18.1 15.5 16.0 16.2 16.0 16.1 15.7
45-54 19.6 18.5 17.2 18.4 17.8 17.8 19.0 17.9 17.2 15.7
55+ 18.0 18.4 17.7 17.6 18.4 15.9 15.7 15.8 16.6 16.7
 
15-17 12.3 11.5 12.2 12.1 11.5 10.2 9.2 12.1 10.4 10.8
18-19 13.9 13.9 13.5 13.8 13.1 12.7 12.2 12.4 12.5 13.0
20-22 15.1 13.9 13.8 13.8 13.0 13.1 13.2 12.9 12.9 12.3
23-24 14.7 14.0 14.2 14.3 12.2 12.4 13.5 12.8 13.1 12.1
25+ 18.1 17.7 16.8 17.1 16.5 15.7 16.4 16.0 15.9 15.4
Table 7 - Percentage of children exposed at home to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), age 0 to 11 years, by province, Canada 1999 to 2008
  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Canada 26 24 19 16 14 12 9 9 7 6
Newfoundland and Labrador 32 29 23 21 16 12 9 8 6 6
Prince Edward Island 29 25 26 17 16 13 12 9 7 6
Nova Scotia 31 28 22 21 16 13 13 11 7 6
New Brunswick 23 26 24 18 17 15 12 11 10 8
Quebec 39 36 38 26 25 23 17 18 14 12
Ontario 22 19 15 12 9 7 6 5 5 3
Manitoba 35 29 23 17 15 13 11 11 8 7
Saskatchewan 30 32 25 18 17 16 13 13 10 9
Alberta 25 21 19 15 11 9 8 9 6 6
British Columbia 11 15 9 6 6 4 4 3 4 3
Table 8 - Select CTUMS percentages, age 15+ years, Canada 1999 to 2008
Smoking status: 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

n/a - not asked in the survey

§ - Women age 20-44 years who are daily, nondaily or former smokers (who quit less than 5 years ago) and were pregnant in the last 5 years

¥ - Women age 20-44 years who were pregnant in the last 5 years

* Moderate sampling variability, interpret with caution.
Current smokers 25 24 22 21 21 20 19 19 19 18
Daily smokers 21 20 18 18 17 15 15 14 15 13
NonDaily smokers 4 5 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 4
Former smokers 25 26 27 25 26 26 28 27 28 29
Never smokers 49 50 49 54 53 55 54 54 53 53
Ever smokers 51 50 51 46 47 45 46 46 47 47
 
Quit attempts:
Attempted to quit past 12 months, daily smokers n/a 52 49 45 71 46 49 48 47 49
 
Smoking behaviour:
Smoked during first 5 min after waking, daily smokers 25 24 22 25 29 23 24 21 23 23
Smoked during first 30 min after waking, daily smokers 57 56 60 59 60 57 60 54 59 58
 
Children exposed to ETS:
Children age 0 to 11 years regularly exposed to ETS at home 26 24 19 16 14 12 9 9 7 6
Children age 12 to 17 years regularly exposed to ETS at home 32 31 27 23 19 19 16 14 13 11
Children age 0 to 17 years regularly exposed to ETS at home 28 27 22 19 16 15 12 11 10 8
 
Smoking and pregnancy:
Smoked regularly during most recent pregnancy§ n/a n/a n/a 11 11* 8* 9* 10 10 9
Spouse smoked regularly during most recent pregnancy¥ n/a n/a n/a 13 12* 7* 7* 7* 3* 5

Return to CTUMS 2008

Date Modified: 2009-09-25

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