Data Sources | Analysis | Suggested Citation | Acknowledgements

This report is the second edition in a series of annual reports on tobacco use in Canada. It was developed by the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact at the University of Waterloo. The report uses data from national surveys conducted by Health Canada and Statistics Canada to summarize the main patterns and trends in tobacco use in Canada, primarily between 1999 and 2009, with a focus on the current year.

Foreword

As we launch the second edition of the Tobacco Patterns and Trends report, we hope that it will be useful to researchers, policy-makers, advocates, media and concerned citizens. We were pleased with the response to the last report. We hope the new edition will spur and help steer effective action in dealing with tobacco as an immense health and societal problem.

We need to persist in vigorously dealing with tobacco. Tobacco use continues to undermine the health of the Canadian population. Nearly five million Canadians currently smoke, and up to half of them will become ill or die from continued tobacco use (i). Tobacco is a leading preventable cause of death in Canada, responsible for over 37,000 deaths annually (ii) and about one-third of cancers (iii). The economic impact of tobacco use in Canada is also significant, with an estimated social cost of $17 billion per yeariv. The most recent estimates indicate that tobacco-related illness costs Canadians $4.4 billion in direct health care costs, and is responsible for 2.2 million acute care hospital days (iv).
 
We want to thank the Canadian Cancer Society for the support required to produce this report. Their persistent and outstanding leadership in cancer prevention and tobacco control is having a profound effect on improving the health of Canadians.

Readers who find this report relevant are encouraged to also refer to Canadian Cancer Statistics which is produced annually by the Canadian Cancer Society in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada; and the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit’s Tobacco Informatics Monitoring System.

I am grateful to Jessica Reid, David Hammond, and their team for once again producing a report that can help guide and support research and advocacy.

Professor, Department of Health Studies & Gerontology,
University of Waterloo
and
Executive Director,
Propel Centre for Population Health Impact