Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island in 2020

  • Smoking prevalence 11.6% (15,000 smokers), compared to 13.7% in 2019.
    • Males: estimate suppressed.
    • Females: estimate suppressed.
  • Average daily cigarette consumption: estimate suppressed; 9.5 cigarettes per day in 2019.
  • Average price per carton (200 cigarettes): $14.10.

Smoking prevalence

In 2020, smoking prevalence in Prince Edward Island was 11.6%, above the national average of 10.3%.

Figure 2.27 shows smoking prevalence, overall and among males and females, in Prince Edward Island from 1999-2020. Prevalence appeared to decline fairly steadily during this time, decreasing by more than half overall. Throughout this time period, prevalence was consistently higher among males than females in all years with reportable data.

Line graph showing current smoking prevalence among males and females in Prince Edward Island from 1999 to 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 2.27 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 2.27: Current smoking prevalence* (%) among males and females, Prince Edward Island, 1999-2020
  PEI Males Females
1999 25.6 28.1 23.1
2000 25.7 30.0 21.7
2001 25.6 [22.8-28.4] 27.9 [23.6-32.3] 23.4 [17.3-29.5]
2002 23.1 [19.6-26.5] 24.7 [20.7-28.7] 21.5 [17.2-25.8]
2003 21.4 [19.3-23.6] 25.1 [21.7-28.5] 17.9 [15.1-20.7]
2004 21.2 [18.9-23.5] 24.5 [21.1-28.0] 18.1 [15.5-20.7]
2005 19.9 [17.5-22.2] 21.4 [17.8-25.1] 18.4 [15.4-21.4]
2006 19.2 [17.2-21.2] 22.0 [18.6-25.3] 16.7 [14.3-19.1]
2007 18.4 [16.3-20.6] 21.7 [18.3-25.1] 15.4 [13.0-17.8]
2008 19.2 [17.4-20.9] 21.3 [18.5-24.2] 17.1 [14.7-19.6]
2009 17.7 [15.7-19.6] 18.5 [15.5-21.5] 16.9 [14.1-20.0]
2010 16.2 [14.3-18.2] 19.8 [16.7-23.0] 12.8 [10.5-15.2]
2011 19.1 [17.0-21.1] 22.7 [19.4-25.9] 15.6 [13.1-18.1]
2012 15.2 [13.0-17.4] 16.7 [13.3-20.1] 13.8 [11.1-16.4]
2013 17.3 [14.7-19.9] 19 [14.8-23.2] 15.7 [12.5-18.9]
2015 12.9 [10.9-15.0] 16.2 [12.7-19.7] 9.9 [7.4-12.3]
2017 11.8 [8.1-15.4] 13.3 [8.0-18.6] 10.3 [5.2-15.5]
2019 13.7 [9.1-18.4] ! !
2020 11.6 [7.0-16.2] ! !

* Includes daily and non-daily smokers.
! Estimates for males and females in 2019 and 2020 suppressed due to unacceptable quality.
Data sources: Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey, 1999-2012; Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017; Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2019, 2020.


Figure 2.28 shows smoking prevalence by age group in Prince Edward Island, from 1999-2020. While data for the most recent years is not reportable by age group, the available data indicate that after an initial period of decrease for close to a decade after 1999, declines slowed among adults and appeared to rebound among youth aged 15-19. The largest decrease observed was among young adults aged 20-24, whose 2017 smoking rate was less than half of the 1999 level.

Figure 2.28 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 2.28: Current smoking prevalence* (%) by age group, Prince Edward Island, 1999-2020
  15-19 20-24 25-44 45+ Overall
1999 28.3 37.0 30.0 19.0 25.6
2000 21.5 36.1 32.9 18.8 25.7
2001 20.4 [16.9-24.0] 34.8 [30.0-39.6] 30.7 [25.7-35.6] 20.9 [16.2-25.6] 25.6 [22.8-28.4]
2002 19.3 [14.9-23.6] 35.3 [30.4-40.2] 30.1 [24.8-35.4] 16.1 [10.1-22.1] 23.1 [19.6-26.5]
2003 19.5 [15.7-23.4] 32.2 [27.0-37.3] 25.9 [21.3-30.6] 16.4 [13.2-19.6] 21.4 [19.3-23.6]
2004 16.6 [13.1-20.1] 31.2 [25.8-36.6] 27.3 [23.2-31.3] 16.0 [12.9-19.0] 21.2 [18.9-23.5]
2005 12.9 [9.9-15.8] 32.3 [26.8-37.8] 25.9 [20.6-31.1] 15.1 [12.1-18.0] 19.9 [17.5-22.2]
2006 14.1 [10.7-17.5] 30.6 [25.3-35.9] 25.0 [20.5-29.5] 14.6 [11.9-17.3] 19.2 [17.2-21.2]
2007 13.1 [10.3-15.9] 24.8 [19.9-29.7] 20.4 [16.2-24.7] 17.1 [14.1-20.2] 18.4 [16.3-20.6]
2008 13.7 [10.7-16.7] 30.8 [25.2-36.3] 21.4 [17.5-25.3] 16.9 [14.4-19.4] 19.2 [17.4-20.9]
2009 14.2 [10.8-17.6] 22.0 [17.4-26.6] 20.5 [16.3-24.8] 15.9 [13.0-18.8] 17.7 [15.7-19.6]
2010 11.3 [8.2-14.4] 21.8 [16.4-27.2] 19.7 [15.3-24.0] 14.3 [11.4-17.1] 16.2 [14.3-18.2]
2011 14.4 [11.2-17.7] 30.3 [25.5-35.0] 23.3 [18.3-28.2] 15.9 [13.1-18.7] 19.1 [17.0-21.1]
2012 8.5 [5.8-11.3] 20.2 [15.5-24.9] 20.5 [15.0-26.0] 12.7 [10.1-15.3] 15.2 [13.0-17.4]
2013 11.5 [7.9-15.0] 19.5 [14.3-24.6] 25 [17.9-32.0] 14 [11.0-16.9] 17.3 [14.7-19.9]
2015 13.2 [8.6-17.8] 15.4 [10.5-20.4] 15.9 [10.8-21.0] 11.1 [8.5-13.7] 12.9 [10.9-15.0]
2017 15.8 [9.2-22.3] 16.2 [9.2-23.2] ! ! 11.8 [8.1-15.4]
2019 ! ! ! ! 13.7 [9.1-18.4]
2020 ! ! ! ! 11.6 [7.0-16.2]

* Includes daily and non-daily smokers.
! Estimates for age 25-44 and age 45+ in 2017-2020, and age 15-19 and age 20-24 in 2019, 2020 suppressed due to unacceptable quality.
Data sources: Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey, 1999-2012; Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017; Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2019, 2020.

Cigarette consumption

Average daily cigarette consumption in Prince Edward Island appears to have decreased fairly steadily from 1999 to 2006, then fluctuated around 15 CPD until 2017, before dipping sharply in 2019 (Figure 2.29). Males consistently consumed more cigarettes per day than females in all years with available data.

Figure 2.29 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 2.29: Average daily cigarette consumption* (mean cigarettes per day) among males and females, Prince Edward Island, 1999-2020
  PEI Males Females
1999 17.2 18.7 15.6
2000 17.7 19.6 15.1
2001 17.5 [16.2-18.9] 19.6 [17.5-21.8] 15.1 [13.5-16.8]
2002 16.8 [15.5-18.1] 18.7 [17.0-20.4] 14.7 [13.2-16.2]
2003 16.4 [15.3-17.5] 18.6 [17.1-20.2] 13.6 [12.1-15.0]
2004 16.1 [14.9-17.4] 18.2 [16.4-20.0] 13.4 [12.0-14.8]
2005 16.1 [14.7-17.5] 17.9 [15.9-20.0] 14.1 [12.5-15.7]
2006 15.3 [14.3-16.4] 17.0 [15.4-18.7] 13.3 [12.1-14.5]
2007 16.5 [15.2-17.8] 18.8 [16.7-20.9] 13.8 [12.4-15.1]
2008 14.7 [13.6-15.8] 16.6 [15.1-18.0] 12.3 [11.0-13.7]
2009 15.2 [13.8-16.6] 16.5 [14.7-18.4] 13.9 [12.1-15.6]
2010 17.1 [15.9-18.3] 19.1 [17.4-20.8] 14.6 [13.1-16.1]
2011 15.5 [14.2-16.8] 17.9 [16.1-19.6] 12.2 [10.8-13.5]
2012 15.6 [13.8-17.4] 18.1 [15.1-21.0] 12.9 [11.5-14.4]
2013 14.6 [13.0-16.1] 17 [14.7-19.3] 12.1 [10.6-13.7]
2015 14.7 [12.0-17.4] 17.3 [13.1-21.5] 11.1 [9.6-12.6]
2017 14.9 [11.2-18.6] 19.1 [13.6-24.6] !
2019 9.5 [6.4-12.7] ! !
2020 ! ! !

*Among daily smokers.
! Estimates for females in 2017, males and females in 2019, and all estimates in 2020 suppressed due to unacceptable quality.
Data sources: Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey,1999-2012; Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017; Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2019, 2020.