Perceptions of e-cigarettes

Ease of access

Students were asked, How difficult or easy do you think it would be for you to get each of the following types of substances, if you wanted some?. For e-cigarettes with nicotine (Figure 12.8), the proportion of grade 7-9 students who thought that it would be fairly easy or very easy (39.4%a) was similar to the proportion who thought it would be fairly difficult or very difficult (37.7%b).

However, perceived access to e-cigarettes with nicotine varied significantly by e-cigarette use status:167 three-quarters of ever-users (75.0%c) thought it would be fairly easy or very easy, compared to nearly one-third (30.0%d) of never-users of e-cigarettes.

For e-cigarettes without nicotine (Figure 12.9), the proportion of grade 7-9 students who thought that it would be fairly easy or very easy (45.7%e) was greater than the proportion who thought it would be fairly difficult or very difficult (31.8%f).

However, perceived access to e-cigarettes with nicotine varied significantly by e-cigarette use status:168 four out of five ever-users (80.2%g) thought it would be fairly easy or very easy, compared to just over one-third (36.5%h) of never-users of e-cigarettes.

Pie chart showing perceived ease of accessing e-cigarettes with nicotine, grades 7 to 9, from 2018 to 2019. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Pie chart showing perceived ease of accessing e-cigarettes without nicotine, grades 7 to 9, from 2018 to 2019. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 12.8 Data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 12.8: Perceived ease of accessing e-cigarettes with nicotine, grades 7-9, 2018-19
Perceived ease of accessing e-cigarettes with nicotine % of respondents
Very easy 17.9 [16.2-19.7]
Fairly easy 21.5 [20.0-22.9]
Fairly difficult 16.2 [15.4-17.0]
Very difficult 21.5 [20.0-22.9]
Don't know 22.9 [21.4-24.4]

Data source: Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2018-19.

Figure 12.9 Data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 12.9: Perceived ease of accessing e-cigarettes without nicotine, grades 7-9, 2018-19
Perceived ease of accessing e-cigarettes without nicotine % of respondents
Very easy 22.7 [21.1-24.3]
Fairly easy 23.0 [21.7-24.2]
Fairly difficult 13.9 [13.1-14.7]
Very difficult 17.9 [16.6-19.3]
Don't know 22.5 [21.1-23.9]

Data source: Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2018-19.

95% confidence intervals for in-text estimates 

a: 39.4 [36.7-42.2]
b: 37.7 [36.0-39.4]
c: 75.0 [70.6-79.4]
d: 30.0 [27.7-32.3]
e: 45.7 [43.4-47.9]
f: 31.8 [30.3-33.4]
g: 80.2 [78.0-82.3]
h: 36.5 [34.2-38.8]