Current smoking prevalence

Bar chart showing current smoking prevalence in Canada, adults aged 15+, 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

In 2020, the overall prevalence of smoking in Canada was 10.3%, equivalent to approximately 3.2 million Canadians. This represents a significant decrease from the 2019 estimate of 11.9%.1

Approximately 8.0% of Canadians (2.5 million) were daily smokers, while 2.4% (741,000) were non-daily smokers (Figure 1.2). Whereas non-daily smoking decreased significantly from 3.3% in 2019,2 daily smoking did not change significantly from the 2019 estimate of 8.6%.3

As shown in Figure 1.3, overall smoking prevalence has decreased significantly over time since 1999.4 Reduction in daily smoking appears to be responsible for most of the observed decline in smoking rates during this time period, since non-daily smoking has remained relatively constant.

Figure 1.2 data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 1.2: Current smoking prevalence (%), adults aged 15+, 2020
  Daily Non-daily
2020 8.0 [7.2-8.7] 2.4 [1.9-2.8]

Data source: Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2020.

Figure 1.3 data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 1.3: Current smoking prevalence (%), adults aged 15+, 1999-2020
  Overall Daily Non-daily
1999 25.2 21 4.4
2000 24.4 19.9 4.7
2001 21.7 [20.4-23.1] 18.1 [16.7-19.5] 3.7 [3.3-4.2]
2002 21.4 [20.6-22.3] 17.6 [16.8-18.5] 3.9 [3.5-4.3]
2003 20.9 [19.7-22.0] 16.6 [15.5-17.8] 4.2 [3.7-4.7]
2004 19.6 [18.5-20.7] 15.0 [14.0-15.9] 4.6 [4.1-4.2]
2005 18.7 [17.6-19.8] 15.0 [13.9-16.0] 3.7 [3.3-4.2]
2006 18.6 [17.6-19.6] 14.2 [13.3-15.1] 4.4 [3.9-5.0]
2007 19.2 [18.2-20.3] 15.3 [14.4-16.3] 3.9 [3.4-4.4]
2008 17.9 [16.8-20.3] 13.5 [12.6-14.3] 4.4 [3.8-5.1]
2009 17.5 [16.5-18.6] 13.6 [12.6-14.5] 4.0 [3.4-4.5]
2010 16.7 [15.8-17.7] 13.0 [12.1-14.0] 3.7 [3.1-4.3]
2011 17.3 [16.2-18.4] 13.8 [12.7-14.8] 3.6 [3.1-4.1]
2012 16.1 [15.0-17.3] 11.9 [10.9-12.8] 4.3 [3.6-5.0]
2013 14.6 [13.5-15.8] 10.9 [9.9-11.9] 3.8 [3.2-4.5]
2015 13.0 [12.0-14.0] 9.4 [8.4-10.3] 3.7 [3.1-4.2]
2017 15.1 [13.6-16.6] 10.8 [9.5-12.1] 4.3 [3.4-5.1]
2019 11.9 [10.9-12.8] 8.6 [7.8-9.4] 3.3 [2.8-3.8]
2020 10.3 [9.5-11.2] 8.0 [7.2-8.7] 2.4 [1.9-2.8]

Data sources: Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey, 1999-2013; Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017; Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2019, 2020.