Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) 2008

Summary of Annual Results for 2008

Key Results

• The release of CTUMS 2008 marks the tenth annual release of CTUMS data. Over the last decade, while the number of Canadians aged 15 years and older has risen by 12% (about 24.3 million in 1999 to 27.3 million in 2008), the number of current smokers has fallen by 20% (about 6.1 million in 1999 to 4.9 million in 2008).
• In 2008, eighteen per cent (18%) of the Canadian population aged 15 years and older (about 4.9 million Canadians) were current smokers. This represents the first statistically significant decrease since 2004 (20%).
• The prevalence rate of current smoking among youth aged 15-17 was 10% (about 0.1 million youth), which is almost at the 2011 target of 9%.
• Young adults aged 20-24 years reported the highest prevalence of smoking at 27%, not statistically different than the 25% of young adults who reported smoking last year.
• The smoking rate among adult Canadians aged 25 years and older dropped from 19% in 2007 to 17% in 2008. This change is the result of a decrease in the prevalence of female smokers aged 25 years and older where the rate went from 18% in 2007 to 15% in 2008.
• The prevalence rate of current smoking among Canadians aged 15 years and older was higher in rural communities (21%) in Canada compared to urban communities (17%), however, a much larger number of smokers live in urban communities (about 3.7 million smokers) versus rural communities (about 1.0 million smokers).

Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey 2008 Annual Results
National Overview

In 2008, 18% of the Canadian population aged 15 years and older (about 4.9 million Canadians) said they were current smokers compared to 19% reported in 2007. More males (20%) reported smoking compared to females (16%). Thirteen per cent (13%) of Canadians reported smoking daily, while 4% reported smoking occasionally. While not statistically different from last year's rate (19%), this represents the first statistically significant decline since 2004 (20%).

CTUMS - 10 Years of Data, 10 Years of Progress

The release of CTUMS 2008 marks the tenth annual release of CTUMS data. During the past ten years, CTUMS has reported a decline in the overall current smoking rate from 25% in 1999 to 18% in 2008. But, according to CTUMS, this is only a small part of what has happened in Canada. Over the last decade, while the number of Canadians aged 15 years and older has risen by 12%, from about 24.3 million in 1999 to 27.3 million in 2008, the number of current smokers has fallen by 20%, from 6.1 million in 1999 to 4.9 million in 2008.

According to CTUMS, smokers' behaviour has changed considerably over the ten year period. In 1999, 21% of the population aged 15 years and older (about 5.1 million Canadians) smoked daily. In 2008, only 13% of the population smoked daily (about 3.7 million Canadians), a decline of 28% over the ten year period. Furthermore, daily smokers were smoking 2.5 fewer cigarettes in 2008 than in 1999 (14.9 vs. 17.4).

On the other hand, there was a 15% increase in the number of Canadians who reported smoking occasionally, from just over 1 million in 1999 to 1.2 million in 2008. Like daily smokers, however, occasional smokers were smoking fewer cigarettes in 2008 compared to 1999 (3.3 vs. 5.2).

During the ten years that CTUMS has collected data from 1999-2008, the population aged 15 years and older increased by about 3 million Canadians, the number of current smokers has decreased by about 1.2 million, former smokers increased by 1.7 million and never smokers increased by 2.6 million. Overall, we saw the population increase by about 12% while ever smokers (current and former combined) increased by only 4%.  But, among the additional 3 million Canadians, only 13% (400,000) became ever smokers.

Youth Smoking (Aged 15-19 Years)

The current smoking rate among youth aged 15-19 years was 15% (about 0.3 million youth) in 2008, unchanged from the same period last year. A higher percentage of male youth (17%) were current smokers compared to female youth (13%). Nine per cent (9%) of youth reported smoking daily and 6% occasionally. The prevalence rate of current smoking among youth aged 15-17 was 10% (about 0.1 million youth) compared to 23% (about 0.2 million youth) among youth aged 18-19 years.

Young Adult Smoking (Aged 20-24 Years)

Although the young adult group had the highest prevalence of smoking at 27% in 2008, this group (about 0.6 million young adults) represents 13% of all Canadian smokers. Male young adults (33%) continue to have a higher prevalence of smoking compared to females (22%). Eighteen per cent (18%) of young adults reported smoking daily while 9% reported smoking occasionally.

Consumption of Cigarettes

In 2008, daily smokers consumed an average of 14.9 cigarettes per day (CPD), the lowest point estimate on record since Health Canada first reported the consumption of CPD. Average cigarette consumption has dropped 28% from 20.6 cigarettes per day in 1985 to 14.9 in 2008. Youth daily smokers aged 15-19 years consumed an average of 12.2 cigarettes per day. The consumption of cigarettes per day by youth has dropped from 15.1 cigarettes per day in 1985 to 12.2 as reported in 2008. Young adults aged 20-24 years who reported smoking daily consumed an average of 12.2 cigarettes per day with males (13.6) consuming more cigarettes daily compared to females (10.2).

Urban and Rural Smoking

The prevalence of current smoking among Canadians aged 15 years and older was higher in rural communities (21%) in Canada compared to urban communities (17%), however, a much larger number of smokers live in urban communities (about 3.7 million smokers) compared to rural communities (about 1.0 million smokers). The number of urban current smokers as a percentage of the total population (27.3 million) was 14% compared to rural smokers at 4%. At the provincial level, Manitoba was the only province where the urban current smoking rate (19%) was statistically different than the rural rate (28%).

Smokeless Tobacco

Canadians were asked about their use of smokeless tobacco products. Less than 1% of Canadians aged 15 years and older reported using any of these products in the past 30 days. Only 1% of youth aged 15-19 (about 30 000 teens) and 1% of young adults aged 20-24 (about 27 000 young adults) reported using smokeless tobacco in the past 30 days. The rates for Canadians aged 15+, 15-19 years and 20-24 years are unchanged compared to 1999, the first year CTUMS asked respondents about their use of smokeless tobacco products.

Little Cigar and Cigarillo Use

The CTUMS 2008 asked respondents about their use of little cigars and cigarillos. One-third (37%) of Canadians aged 15 years and older reported having ever tried little cigars, and 4% (about 1.1 million) reported smoking little cigars in the past 30 days, unchanged from when CTUMS first asked about the use of little cigars and cigarillos separate from regular cigars in 2007. Among Canadian youth aged 15-19 years, 31% reported having ever tried little cigars and 9% (about 0.2 million youth) reported smoking a little cigar in the past 30 days. Nearly half (48%) of young adults aged 20-24 years reported having ever tried little cigars and 12% (about 0.3 million young adults) reported smoking a little cigar in the past 30 days.

Reference Information

CTUMS was developed to provide Health Canada and its partners with timely, reliable, and continual data on tobacco use and related issues. The survey's primary objective is to track changes in smoking status and amount smoked, especially among Canadians aged 15-24, who are most at risk for taking up smoking.  The CTUMS annual collected data from 20,541 respondents during February to December 2008. The overall margin of error for the smoking rate for Canada is +/- 1.0%. We expect the true smoking prevalence for this population to be between 16.8% and 18.9%, 19 times out of 20.

Note that when comparing results across different data releases of CTUMS, Health Canada advises that it is more accurate and reliable to compare results from one wave with those of other waves and to compare annual results with other annual results.

For more information about the survey and/or its results, please write the Controlled Substances and Tobacco Directorate, Office of Tobacco Research, Surveillance and Evaluation, Health Canada, 123 Slater Street, Address Locator 3507C, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0K9, or send an email request to tcp-plt-questions@hc-sc.gc.ca, or visit Health Canada's Controlled Substances and Tobacco Control Directorate website www.gosmokefree.ca.

For information on the public-use microdata file, contact Statistics Canada's Client Services
(1-800-461-9050; 613-951-3321; fax: 613-951-4527; ssd@statcan.ca), Special Surveys Division.

Return to CTUMS 2008