![Bar chart showing prevalence of ever, past 30-day, and daily/almost daily use of e-cigarettes, by smoking status, grades 7 to 9, from 2018 to 2019. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.](/tobacco-use-canada/sites/default/files/uploads/images/12_5_2022_figure_0.jpg)
Among students in grades 7-9, e-cigarette use (ever, past 30-day, and daily/amost daily) varied significantly by smoking status156-158 (Figure 12.5).
Almost all current smokers (95.8%) had ever tried e-cigarettes, compared to 15% of never-smokers. Most current smokers (88.1%) had used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, compared to just 7% of never-smokers. More than half (54.2%) of current smokers reported using e-cigarettes daily or almost daily, while this was rare among never-smokers.
When asked, “Which did you try first: smoking a cigarette or an e-cigarette (electronic cigarette)?”, nearly half (44.1%a) of students who had used both products reported using e-cigarettes first, while a similar proportion (42.6%b) reported cigarettes, and the remainder did not recall.
Between 2016-17 and 2018-19, there were significant increases in the prevalence of ever use and past 30-day use of e-cigarettes among current smokers, former smokers, experimental smokers, and never smokers159-166 (Table 12.2).
![](/tobacco-use-canada/sites/default/files/uploads/images/12_2_2022_table_0.jpg)
Download Table_12_2_Ever_use_and_past_30_day_use_of_ecigarettes_by_smoking_status_grades_7_9.xlsx