Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS)

CTUMS 2009 Wave 1 Survey Results

Overview

The half-year results from the Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS), for data collected between February and June, 2009, show that 17% of the Canadian population aged 15 years and older were current smokers (about 4.8 million smokers), not significantly different from the same period one year ago. More males (19%) reported smoking compared to females (16%), a statistically significant difference that is unchanged from 2008. Thirteen percent (13%) of Canadians reported smoking daily while 4% reported smoking occasionally. Daily smokers consumed an average of 13.3 cigarettes per day, a significant decrease from the 15.0 cigarettes per day reported during the same period in 2008.

Youth Smoking (Aged 15-19 Years)

Based on 2009 Wave 1 results, the current smoking rate among youth aged 15-19 years was 14% (just over 300,000 teens). Unchanged from the same period last year, 14%¹ is the lowest rate on record since Health Canada first reported youth smoking prevalence. Eight percent (8%)¹ of youth reported smoking daily and youth daily smokers reported consuming an average of 10.9 cigarettes per day. Five percent (5%)¹ of youth reported smoking occasionally.

A higher percentage of male teenagers (16%) were current smokers compared to female teenagers (12%). Male youth reported consuming an average of 11.6 cigarettes per day and female youth consumed an average of 10.0 cigarettes per day.

The prevalence rate of smoking among respondents aged 15-17 years was 10% (about 141,000 youth) in the first half of 2009, unchanged from the same period one year earlier. The Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (FTCS) objective to reduce the prevalence of Canadian youth (aged 15-17) who smoke to 9% by 2011, appears to be on target. In order to further reduce the smoking rate among youth aged 15-17, tobacco control efforts will need to continue to focus on youth since this is the period where the majority of experimentation and smoking uptake takes place.

Young Adult Smoking (Aged 20-24 Years)

The prevalence of smoking among young adults aged 20-24 years was 21% (about 485,000 young adults) during the first half of 2009, a statistically significant decrease from the 28% reported during the first half of 2008. The overall decline in this age-group was driven by a significant decrease in the male smoking rate, falling to 25% from 32% in the first half of 2008. The smoking rate for female young adults was 18%, not statistically significantly different from the 23% reported in 2008 Wave 1.

The rate of daily smoking among young adults declined to 13%, down significantly from the 19% reported in 2008 Wave 1. Once again, this decline was driven by statistically significant reductions among males, from 22% in the first half of 2008 to 16% in the first half of 2009. For Wave 1 2009, the rate of daily smoking among females (11%) was not significantly different from 2008 Wave 1 (16%). Respondents who reported smoking daily consumed an average of 12.1 cigarettes per day. Overall, there was no difference in the number of cigarettes smoked per day by young adult daily smokers during the first half of 2009 compared to the same period one year ago (13.8).

Consumption of Cigarettes

Canadian daily smokers aged 15 years and older consumed an average of 13.3 cigarettes per day in the first half 2009, a significant decrease from the same period in 2008 (15.0). Average daily consumption among males was 14.2 cigarettes per day, a significant decrease from 2008 CTUMS Wave 1 results (16.5). Female daily smokers averaged 12.2 cigarettes per day, no different from 2008 CTUMS Wave 1 results (13.1).

Along with smoking packaged cigarettes, some Canadian smokers choose to roll or make their own cigarettes. Among current smokers, 12% reported that they currently rolled or made their own cigarettes, including 5% who did it all the time.

Smoking in the Home

In the first half of 2009, 11% of Canadian households reported at least one person who smoked inside the home every day or almost every day. Among the remaining homes where someone did not smoke every day or almost every day, 8% of homes still allowed smoking inside, a statistically significant decrease from 2008 Wave 1 (11%). Forty-seven percent (47%) of households in which smoking was allowed in the home, or where someone smoked regularly inside the home, placed some restriction on it. Nationally, 5% of children aged 0-11 years and 10% of children aged 12-17 years were regularly exposed to second-hand smoke at home.

Cigarette Access/Social Sources

Current smokers were asked if they had made any attempts to purchase cigarettes at a lower cost during the past 6 months. The 2009 Wave 1 results revealed that 30% of current smokers purchased discount-brand cigarettes during the past 6 months, 16% bought cigarettes from a First Nation's Reserve and 11% bought cigarettes from outside the province. Some smokers reported buying multiple types of lower-cost cigarettes.

Of the 14% of Canadian youth over the age of 15 years who identified themselves as current smokers, 59% were not yet the legal age to purchase tobacco products in their respective provinces. Of these youth, nearly half (49%) reported that they purchased tobacco products from a small grocery/corner store, representing approximately 88,000 underage youth.

Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke

CTUMS asked respondents about their exposure to second-hand smoke in places other than their own home. Reported exposure to second-hand smoke in the past month was as follows: 54% at an entrance to a building, 53% on a sidewalk/in a park, 20% inside a car or other vehicle and 20% at the workplace. Overall, 34% of respondents reported being exposed to second-hand smoke at least once a week, while 10% reported it occurring every day and 11% reported exposure almost everyday, unchanged from 2008 Wave 1.

Use of Little Cigars

CTUMS 2009 Wave 1 continues to monitor the use of little cigars. One-third (37%) of Canadians 15 years and older reported having ever tried little cigars, and 3% reported smoking little cigars in the past 30 days, levels which are unchanged from CTUMS 2008 Wave 1 results. Among Canadian youth aged 15-19, 30% reported having ever tried little cigars and 8% reported smoking a little cigar in the past 30 days, also unchanged from the first half of 2008.

Almost half (47%) of young adults aged 20-24 reported having ever tried little cigars, unchanged from the CTUMS 2008 Wave 1 results, however 10% reported smoking a little cigar in the past 30 days, a statistically significant decrease from the same period in 2008(13%).

Smokeless Tobacco Products

Unchanged from CTUMS 2008 Wave 1 results, only 8% of Canadians 15 years and older report having ever tried smokeless tobacco products. Sample size was too small to report on past 30-day use.

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 for 15 to 24 year olds, who are most at risk for taking up smoking. CTUMS 2009 Wave 1 collected data from over 9,000 respondents from February to June 2009. The overall margin of error for the smoking rate for Canada is +/- 1.5%. We expect the true smoking prevalence for this population to be between 15.8% and 18.8%, 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 contact Health Canada by email (tcp-plt-questions@hc-sc.gc.ca), toll free telephone number (1-866-318-1116), fax (613-954-2377) or visit www.gosmokefree.gc.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.gc.ca), Special Surveys Division.

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