Alberta

Smoking prevalence

$101.65. In 2017, smoking prevalence in Alberta was 18.9%, well above the national average of 15.1%.

Figure 2.6 (below) shows smoking prevalence, overall and by sex, in Alberta from 1999-2017. Prevalence has declined substantially overall, although little progress was made for several years around the mid-2000s or in the most recent survey years. Males had similar or greater prevalence compared to females in most of the years observed.

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 2.6 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Current smoking prevalence* by sex, Alberta, 1999-2017
	Alberta	Males	Females
1999	26.0	27.1	24.8
2000	22.6	23.9	21.2
2001	25.1 [22.5-27.7]	27.9 [23.9-31.9]	22.3 [19.1-25.6]
2002	22.8 [20.4-25.2]	21.9 [18.7-25.1]	23.7 [20.4-27.0]
2003	20.0 [17.5-22.5]	21.0 [17.4-24.6]	18.9 [15.9-22.0]
2004	20.1 [18.2-22.0]	22.5 [19.6-25.5]	17.7 [15.2-20.2]
2005	20.6 [19.2-22.0]	23.0 [20.7-25.3]	18.1 [16.1-20.1]
2006	21.3 [19.0-23.5]	23.4 [20.3-26.5]	19.1 [15.9-22.2]
2007	20.9 [18.6-23.2]	21.9 [18.4-25.5]	19.9 [17.0-22.9]
2008	20.4 [18.3-22.6]	22.5 [19.1-25.9]	18.3 [15.6-21.0]
2009	18.0 [16.0-20.1]	20.1 [16.8-23.3]	15.9 [13.6-18.2]
2010	18.8 [16.7-21.0]	21.6 [18.2-25.0]	16.0 [13.6-18.3]
2011	17.7 [15.4-19.9]	20.1 [16.9-23.4]	15.1 [12.3-17.9]
2012	17.4 [14.8-20.0]	17.1 [13.1-21.2]	17.7 [14.6-20.7]
2013	16 [13.0-19.1]	18.9 [14.0-23.8]	13.1 [9.7-16.5]
2015	15.8 [13.5-18.1]	18.9 [15.2-22.7]	12.6 [9.8-15.3]
2017	18.9 [14.8-22.9]	18.6 [13.0-24.2]	19.1 [13.0-25.2]

*Includes daily and non-daily smokers
Data sources: Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey,1999-2012; Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017.

Figure 2.7 shows smoking prevalence by age group in Alberta, from 1999-2017. During this time, there was a net decrease in smoking prevalence in all age groups. However, declines in smoking were particularly steep among youth and young adults, with less change among older age groups.

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 2.7 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Current smoking prevalence* by age group, Alberta, 1999-2017
	15-19	20-24	25-44	45+	Overall
1999	26.4	39.9	28.0	20.1	26.0
2000	24.4	29.5	26.2	16.5	22.6
2001	24.1 [19.8-28.5]	34.5 [30.1-38.8]	29.1 [24.1-34.1]	19.0 [15.2-22.9]	25.1 [22.5-27.7]
2002	19.0 [15.4-22.6]	29.6 [24.5-34.7]	26.2 [21.6-30.9]	18.6 [15.0-22.3]	22.8 [20.4-25.2]
2003	18.2 [13.9-22.4]	30.7 [25.6-35.8]	26.3 [21.7-30.8]	11.8 [8.6-15.0]	20.0 [17.5-22.5]
2004	15.7 [12.1-19.2]	28.3 [23.7-32.9]	21.6 [18.1-25.0]	17.8 [14.8-20.9]	20.1 [18.2-22.0]
2005	18.9 [15.7-22.0]	27.1 [23.9-30.2]	25.8 [22.8-28.7]	14.9 [12.7-17.0]	20.6 [19.2-22.0]
2006	15.2 [11.8-18.6]	30.0 [25.0-35.0]	24.5 [20.0-29.1]	17.7 [14.6-21.3]	21.3 [19.0-23.5]
2007	20.1 [15.9-24.2]	27.5 [22.6-32.4]	23.1 [18.9-27.3]	17.7 [14.2-21.3]	20.9 [18.6-23.2]
2008	16.0 [12.2-19.7]	29.2 [24.2-34.2]	21.5 [17.2-25.7]	18.4 [15.4-21.5]	20.4 [18.3-22.6]
2009	12.4 [9.2-15.6]	25.6 [20.8-30.4]	20.8 [16.5-25.2]	15.0 [12.2-17.8]	18.0 [16.0-20.1]
2010	16.9 [13.1-20.8]	20.4 [16.2-24.6]	23.6 [19.4-27.9]	14.7 [11.8-17.5]	18.8 [16.7-21.0]
2011	8.3 [5.7-11.0]	24 [19.4-28.7]	18.6 [14.0-23.2]	17.2 [14.2-20.2]	17.7 [15.4-19.9]
2012	9.9 [6.9-12.8]	24.4 [19.2-29.6]	16.0 [11.5-20.5]	18.4 [14.9-22.0]	17.4 [14.8-20.0]
2013	8.8 [5.3-12.4] #	21.4 [15.5-27.2]	19.6 [12.9-26.3]	13.1 [10.0-16.2]	16 [13.0-19.1]
2015	!	19.0 [14.3-23.7]	17.0 [12.6-21.5]	15.1 [12.0-18.3]	15.8 [13.5-18.1]
2017	7.0 [3.8-10.2]	21.1 [13.9-28.2]	25.1 [16.8-33.4]	15.0 [9.3-20.7]	18.9 [14.8-22.9]

* Includes daily and non-daily smokers
# Caution: these estimates do not meet Statistics Canada's quality standards. Conclusions based on these data will be unreliable, and most likely invalid.
! Estimate suppressed due to unacceptable quality.
Data sources: Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey, 1999-2012; Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017.

Cigarette consumption

Between 1999 and 2017, average daily cigarette consumption in Alberta fluctuated around 15 for many years, but appears to have decreased slightly overall (Figure 2.8). Male smokers consumed 3-4 cigarettes more per day than female smokers in most years.

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 2.8 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Average daily cigarette consumption* by sex, Alberta, 1999-2017
	Alberta	Males	Females
1999	16.2	18.1	14.1
2000	16.6	18.4	14.7
2001	16.3 [15.0-17.5]	17.7 [16.2-19.2]	14.3 [12.8-15.9]
2002	16.4 [15.1-17.8]	18.8 [16.8-20.9]	14.2 [12.5-15.9]
2003	14.6 [13.4-15.7]	15.9 [14.0-17.8]	13.1 [11.9-14.2]
2004	14.4 [13.3-15.6]	15.4 [13.8-17.1]	13.1 [11.8-14.4]
2005	14.9 [14.0-15.8]	16.6 [15.3-17.9]	12.8 [11.8-13.9]
2006	15.9 [14.9-16.9]	17.1 [15.7-18.4]	14.1 [12.6-15.6]
2007	16.1 [14.8-17.5]	18.6 [16.5-20.6]	13.4 [12.0-14.8]
2008	14.2 [13.0-15.3]	15.7 [13.9-17.4]	12.4 [11.3-13.6]
2009	13.9 [12.7-15.0]	15.5 [13.9-17.1]	11.9 [10.6-13.2]
2010	14.9 [13.5-16.2]	16.1 [14.0-18.2]	13.2 [12.0-14.4]
2011	13.9 [12.8-15.0]	15.5 [14.0-17.0]	11.5 [9.9-13.2]
2012	13.9 [12.5-15.4]	14.3 [11.8-16.9]	13.6 [12.1-15.0]
2013	13.4 [11.8-15.0]	14.9 [12.3-17.1]	11.8 [10.2-13.4]
2015	14.7 [13.0-16.3]	15.3 [12.9-17.7]	13.7 [11.6-15.9]
2017	11.9 [9.6-14.2]	13.8 [9.8-17.8]	10.0 [7.6-12.3]

*Among daily smokers
Data sources: Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey,1999-2012; Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017