About Tobacco Use in Canada

This report is the ninth edition in a series on tobacco use in Canada, initially developed by the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact (at the University of Waterloo) with funding from the Canadian Cancer Society; preparation of this edition was funded by Health Canada. The current 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 2020, with a focus on the most recent data available.

The report has four sections:

  1. Tobacco Use among Canadian Adults includes demographic trends in prevalence and consumption, use of tobacco products other than cigarettes, as well as summary measures at the provincial level.
  2. Quitting Smoking includes quit rates, quit attempts, quit success, and use of various forms of cessation assistance.
  3. Tobacco Use among Canadian Youth includes prevalence and consumption, sources of cigarettes, use of other tobacco products, and quitting-related measures.
  4. E-cigarette Use in Canada includes prevalence and demographic trends in e-cigarette use among Canadian adults and youth, as well as additional measures about e-cigarettes (flavours, nicotine, reasons for use, perceptions, etc.).

How to use this site

This site contains selected content and figures from each section of the 2022 report, with accompanying data tables that include 95% confidence intervals, to enable the extraction of more precise numbers.

You can find the data tables below the figures on each page and may copy them to Excel. In cases where tables are too large to host on the page, a link to download the Excel file will appear below the corresponding figure.

Use the menu on the left to navigate the four main sections of the report: adult tobacco use, quitting smokingyouth tobacco use, and e-cigarette use.

You can download a PDF version of the most recent edition or contact us to request a free copy of a previous report.


The 2022 Edition

This report updates the previous (2019) edition with current data, including the 2019 and 2020 waves of the Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey (CTNS) and the 2018-19 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS). NOTE: Prior editions of this report used the CTADS/CTUMS survey. Although the CTNS measures the same behaviours, specific questions may differ from the previous CTADS/CTUMS surveys (see About CTNS and About CTADS/CTUMS). When interpreting time trends, consider these differences in survey methodology, as well as the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Suggested citation 

Reid JL, Hammond D, Burkhalter R, Rynard VL. Tobacco Use in Canada: Patterns and Trends, 2022 Edition. Waterloo, ON: University of Waterloo.


Acknowledgements

This report was prepared by Jessica Reid, MSc, and David Hammond, PhD. Data analysis was completed by Robin Burkhalter, MMath, and Vicki Rynard, MSc, using datasets made available by Statistics Canada and Health Canada.

Preparation of this edition was funded by a contract from Health Canada. This report and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Statistics Canada or Health Canada.

The online version of the report is managed by Daniel Hong.


For further information, please email tobaccoreport@uwaterloo.ca.