Smoking prevalence among males and females

Bar chart showing current smoking prevalence among males and females in 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals. In 2020, 12.1% of males (1.9 million) and 8.6% of females (1.4 million) were current smokers (Figure 1.4). Overall prevalence was significantly higher among males than females,⁵ as were both daily and non-daily smoking.^6,7

Between 2019 and 2020, overall smoking prevalence among females decreased significantly, from 11.1% to 8.6%.⁸ However, among males there was no significant change from the 2019 estimate of 12.7%.⁹

In all survey years from 1999 to 2020, smoking prevalence estimates were greater among males than females, although the magnitude of this difference varied (Figure 1.5).

Figure 1.4 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 1.4: Current smoking prevalence (%) among males and females, 2020
	Daily	Non-daily
Males	9.1 [7.9-10.3]	3.0 [2.3-3.6]
Females	6.9 [5.9-7.9]	1.8 [1.2-2.3]

Data source: Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2020.

Bar chart showing current smoking prevalence among males and females from 1999 to 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 1.5 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 1.5: Current smoking prevalence (%) among males and females, 1999-2020
	Females			Males
	Overall	Daily	Non-daily	Overall	Daily	Non-daily
1999	23.3	19.4	4.0	27.3	22.7	4.8
2000	23.1	18.5	4.8	25.8	21.4	4.6
2001	19.6 [17.9-21.3]	15.9 [14.2-17.7]	3.8 [3.1-4.4]	23.9 [22.2-25.6]	20.3 [18.6-22.0]	3.7 [3.0-4.3]
2002	19.9 [18.7-21.0]	16.4 [15.2-17.5]	3.6 [3.0-4.1]	23.0 [21.8-24.3]	19.0 [17.7-20.2]	4.2 [3.6-4.8]
2003	18.5 [17.2-19.8]	14.4 [13.1-15.6]	4.1 [3.5-4.8]	23.3 [21.5-25.1]	19.0 [17.2-20.8]	4.3 [3.5-5.1]
2004	17.2 [15.9-18.6]	13.5 [12.3-14.7]	3.8 [3.1-4.4]	22.0 [20.4-23.7]	16.5 [15.1-17.9]	5.5 [4.6-6.5]
2005	15.9 [14.6-17.2]	12.3 [11.1-13.5]	3.6 [3.0-4.2]	21.6 [19.9-23.3]	17.7 [16.0-19.4]	3.9 [3.2-4.6]
2006	17.0 [15.7-18.3]	13.0 [11.9-14.1]	4.0 [3.3-4.6]	20.3 [18.8-21.8]	15.4 [14.1-16.7]	4.9 [4.1-5.7]
2007	18.1 [16.7-19.5]	14.3 [13.0-15.7]	3.8 [3.2-4.5]	20.4 [18.9-21.9]	16.4 [15.0-17.8]	4.0 [3.3-4.7]
2008	15.7 [14.5-17.0]	11.6 [10.5-12.6]	4.2 [3.3-5.0]	20.1 [18.5-21.7]	15.4 [14.0-16.8]	4.7 [3.7-5.7]
2009	15.9 [14.4-17.3]	12.1 [10.9-13.4]	3.7 [3.0-4.5]	19.2 [17.6-20.8]	15.1 [13.6-16.5]	4.2 [3.4-5.0]
2010	13.8 [12.6-15.1]	10.9 [9.7-12.1]	2.9 [2.4-3.5]	19.7 [18.2-21.3]	15.3 [13.9-16.6]	4.5 [3.5-5.4]
2011	15 [13.7-16.4]	12.1 [10.8-13.4]	3.0 [2.4-3.5]	19.7 [17.9-21.4]	15.5 [13.8-17.1]	4.2 [3.3-5.1]
2012	13.9 [12.6-15.2]	10.5 [9.4-11.7]	3.4 [2.7-4.0]	18.4 [16.6-20.3]	13.2 [11.6-14.8]	5.2 [4.1-6.4]
2013	13.3 [11.8-14.8]	10.1 [8.8-11.4]	3.2 [2.3-4.0]	16.0 [14.2-17.9]	11.6 [10-13.3]	4.5 [3.6-5.4]
2015	10.4 [9.2-11.6]	7.9 [6.8-9.0]	2.5 [2.0-3.1]	15.6 [14.0-17.3]	10.9 [9.4-12.4]	4.8 [3.9-5.7]
2017	13.5 [11.7-15.3]	9.7 [8.1-11.3]	3.8 [2.7-4.9]	16.7 [14.4-19.0]	11.9 [9.9-13.9]	4.8 [3.5-6.0]
2019	11.1 [9.9-12.2]	8.5 [7.4-9.5]	2.6 [2.0-3.2]	12.7 [11.2-14.1]	8.7 [7.5-10.0]	3.9 [3.1-4.8]
2020	8.6 [7.5-9.7]	6.9 [5.9-7.9]	1.8 [1.2-2.3]	12.1 [10.7-13.4]	9.1 [7.9-10.3]	3.0 [2.3-3.6]

Data sources: Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey, 1999-2012 (CTUMS); Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CTADS), 2013, 2015, 2017; Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey (CTNS), 2019, 2020.

Note: CTNS asked respondents to self-report "gender" with response options Male, Female, or Specify Other, while CTADS/CTUMS recorded sex of respondents.