Newfoundland & Labrador

Smoking prevalence

$119.86

In 2017, smoking prevalence in Newfoundland and Labrador was 20.1%, well above the national average of 15.1%, and the highest among all provinces.

Figure 2.30 (below) shows smoking prevalence, overall and by sex, in Newfoundland and Labrador from 1999-2017. Overall prevalence decreased steadily until 2005; since then, prevalence has not changed substantially. Prevalence was higher among males than females in most years, although this difference varied from year to year, with similar estimates in several instances.

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 2.30 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Current smoking prevalence* by sex, Newfoundland and Labrador, 1999-2017
	NL	Males	Females
1999	28.5	32.2	24.9
2000	27.7	29.0	26.5
2001	25.7 [22.9-28.5]	30.2 [26.2-34.2]	21.3 [17.9-24.7]
2002	24.1 [21.6-26.5]	26.8 [22.7-30.8]	21.5 [18.5-24.5]
2003	23.0 [20.8-25.2]	25.5 [22.0-29.1]	20.5 [17.6-23.5]
2004	21.8 [19.5-24.2]	23.3 [20.0-26.6]	20.4 [17.3-23.5]
2005	20.6 [18.3-22.8]	22.3 [18.7-25.8]	18.9 [16.0-21.8]
2006	21.7 [19.6-23.8]	25.8 [22.5-29.2]	17.7 [15.2-20.3]
2007	21.2 [18.8-23.5]	23.5 [20.0-27.1]	18.9 [16.1-21.7]
2008	20.2 [18.2-22.3]	22.5 [19.1-25.8]	18.1 [15.5-20.7]
2009	20.7 [18.4-22.9]	24.0 [20.4-27.6]	17.5 [14.8-20.2]
2010	20.0 [17.9-22.2]	20.3 [16.8-23.9]	19.7 [16.9-22.5]
2011	19.0 [16.8-21.1]	21.0 [17.8-24.3]	17.0 [14.0-19.9]
2012	19.7 [17.4-22.0]	23.1 [19.2-26.9]	16.5 [13.8-19.2]
2013	19.5 [17.0-22.0]	19 [15.5-22.5]	19.9 [16.4-23.5]
2015	18.5 [15.8-21.1]	23.1 [19.0-27.2]	14.0 [10.8-17.2]
2017	20.1 [14.6-25.5]	21.7 [13.5-29.9]	18.5 [11.6-25.4]

*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 2.31 shows smoking prevalence by age group in Newfoundland and Labrador, from 1999-2017. During this time period, smoking prevalence decreased substantially in younger age groups, but changed little among those aged 45 and older. The largest decrease observed was among youth aged 15-19, whose smoking rate dropped to approximately one-third of the 1999 estimate.

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 2.31 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Current smoking prevalence* by age group, Newfoundland and Labrador, 1999-2017
	15-19	20-24	25-44	45+	Overall
1999	29.9	37.2	34.6	20.9	28.5
2000	28.4	40.0	38.2	16.2	27.7
2001	22.0 [18.3-25.8]	41.4 [35.7-47.1]	31.8 [27.5-36.2]	18.3 [14.1-22.5]	25.7 [22.9-28.5]
2002	22.2 [18.3-26.2]	35.6 [29.2-42.0]	30.1 [25.1-35.2]	17.5 [14.3-20.8]	24.1 [21.6-26.5]
2003	22.0 [18.1-25.9]	34.3 [28.7-39.9]	28.9 [24.3-33.5]	16.6 [13.7-19.6]	23.0 [20.8-25.2]
2004	21.1 [17.6-24.7]	33.5 [28.0-39.1]	28.6 [23.6-33.6]	15.0 [12.3-17.6]	21.8 [19.5-24.2]
2005	19.0 [14.9-23.1]	28.3 [23.2-33.3]	22.5 [18.2-26.8]	18.2 [1.2-21.3]	20.6 [18.3-22.8]
2006	16.2 [12.6-19.8]	33.3 [28.3-38.2]	27.7 [23.3-32.1]	16.9 [14.2-19.6]	21.7 [19.6-23.8]
2007	16.8 [13.4-20.3]	30.8 [24.9-36.7]	25.8 [21.4-30.2]	17.5 [14.6-20.5]	21.2 [18.8-23.5]
2008	14.7 [11.7-17.7]	28.2 [23.0-33.3]	25.1 [20.3-29.9]	17.0 [14.3-19.7]	20.2 [18.2-22.3]
2009	16.0 [12.7-19.4]	29.4 [24.4-34.4]	27.7 [22.9-32.5]	16.1 [13.1-19.0]	20.7 [18.4-22.9]
2010	15.1 [11.3-18.9]	32.9 [27.0-38.9]	26.8 [21.6-31.9]	15.2 [12.4-18.0]	20.0 [17.9-22.2]
2011	11.1 [8.3-13.9]	25.0 [19.8-30.1]	24.5 [19.9-29.1]	16.2 [13.3-19.1]	19.0 [16.8-21.1]
2012	12.2 [9.2-15.2]	23.6 [18.8-28.4]	24.7 [19.6-29.8]	17.6 [14.6-20.6]	19.7 [17.4-22.0]
2013	12.4 [8.0-16.8]	28.1 [20.9-35.3]	24.3 [18.4-30.3]	16.8 [13.8-19.8]	19.5 [17.0-22.0]
2015	!	25.2 [18.0-32.5]	18.2 [13.2-23.2]	18.5 [15.0-22.0]	18.5 [15.8-21.1]
2017	10.0 [5.6-14.4]	24.2 [11.5-36.9]	!	19.7 [13.2-26.2]	20.1 [14.6-25.5]

* Includes daily and non-daily smokers
! 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

Although average daily cigarette consumption in Newfoundland & Labrador appeared to decrease from 1999, a substantial increase was observed in 2017, particularly among males (Figure 2.32). Male smokers consumed considerably more cigarettes per day than female smokers in all years, particularly recently.

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 2.32 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Average daily cigarette consumption* by sex, Newfoundland and Labrador, 1999-2017
	NL	Males	Females
1999	17.2	19.2	14.9
2000	15.5	17.4	13.5
2001	16.7 [15.3-18.1]	18.6 [16.5-20.8]	14.0 [12.7-15.2]
2002	16.2 [15.0-17.4]	18.3 [16.5-20.1]	13.8 [12.7-14.9]
2003	16.1 [14.8-17.4]	17.5 [15.5-19.5]	14.4 [12.9-16.0]
2004	14.6 [13.2-16.0]	16.3 [14.1-18.5]	12.7 [11.3-14.0]
2005	15.5 [14.0-16.9]	18.1 [15.8-20.3]	12.4 [10.7-14.1]
2006	16.0 [14.9-17.2]	17.5 [16.2-18.8]	13.9 [12.1-15.7]
2007	14.1 [13.1-15.0]	15.9 [14.4-17.4]	11.9 [10.8-12.9]
2008	14.1 [12.9-15.2]	15.0 [13.3-16.8]	13.0 [11.7-14.3]
2009	15.4 [14.2-16.7]	18.2 [16.3-20.1]	12.0 [10.8-13.3]
2010	14.5 [12.9-16.1]	16.6 [14.3-18.9]	12.1 [10.1-14.2]
2011	14.5 [13.5-15.5]	16.0 [14.7-17.3]	12.3 [10.9-13.8]
2012	15.2 [14.2-16.2]	16.4 [15.1-17.8]	13.5 [11.9-15.1]
2013	13.1 [12.0-14.3]	15.1 [13.5-16.8]	11.2 [9.7-12.8]
2015	14.0 [12.7-15.3]	16.0 [14.1-17.8]	10.7 [9.3-12.2]
2017	12.8 [10.6-14.9]	24.2 [15.3-33.2]	12.1 [8.9-15.4]

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