Tobacco Use in Canada
Patterns and Trends - 2012 Edition

youth: SMOKING PREVALENCE


By Age | By Sex | By Province

Smoking Prevalence

In 2008-09, the smoking rate among students in grades 6-9 was 3.5% overall, although it varied substantially by grade from too low to report to 7% (Figure 8.1). Among adolescents aged 15-19, 12% were current smokers in 2010, again with substantial variation by age, from 5-18%. Daily smoking accounted for a little over half of smoking among youth, increasing with age.

Smoking prevalence among students in grades 6-9 did not change significantly between 2006-07 and 2008-09 (64), and has remained fairly steady since 2002, at less than half of the 1994 rate (Figure 8.2).

2012_Figure_8-1

Among youth aged 15-19, smoking prevalence declined steadily from 1999 to 2003, where it remained at around 18% until 2005, before dropping to around 15% for the next few years (Figure 8.2). There was no significant change in prevalence between 2009 and 2010 (65). Most of the decline in smoking among 15- to 19-year-olds appears to be due to decreasing daily smoking rates; non-daily smoking prevalence has fluctuated around 6-8% throughout the years studied.

2012_Figure_8-2