Perceptions of e-cigarettes

Pie chart showing perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes with nicotine, in 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

All respondents were asked, “In your opinion, compared with cigarettes, how harmful to a person’s health are e-cigarettes or vaping devices with nicotine?”

Nearly one-third responded that they were about the same as cigarettes, and that they did not know, respectively, with the remainder split fairly evenly between responses that e-cigarettes were less and more harmful than cigarettes (Figure 11.37).

Responses were similar by smoking status, though it appears that slightly more never smokers responded with ‘about the same’ and ‘somewhat more harmful’ than cigarettes (Figure 11.38)

Figure 11.37 Data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 11.37: Perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes with nicotine, 2020
Perception % of respondents
Much less harmful than cigarettes 3.7 [3.2-4.3]
Somewhat less harmful than cigarettes 15.7 [14.8-16.7]
About the same as cigarettes 32.4 [31.1-33.8]
Somewhat more harmful than cigarettes 7.9 [7.2-8.6]
Much more harmful than cigarettes 9.0 [8.2-9.8]
Don't know 31.2 [29.9-32.4]

Data source: Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2020

Bar chart showing perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes with nicotine, by smoking status, in 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 11.38 Data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 11.38: Perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes with nicotine (%), by smoking status, 2020
Perception Current smokers Former smokers Never smokers
Much less harmful than cigarettes 4.6 [2.7-6.5] 5.1 [3.8-6.4] 3.0 [2.4-3.6]
Somewhat less harmful than cigarettes 13.5 [9.9-17.1] 13.4 [11.6-15.2] 16.4 [15.1-17.6]
About the same as cigarettes 29.9 [24.9-34.9] 30.4 [27.8-33.1] 33.8 [32.1-35.4]
Somewhat more harmful than cigarettes 8.3 [5.4-11.2] 8.0 [6.5-9.5] 7.8 [6.9-8.6]
Much more harmful than cigarettes 9.6 [6.6-12.6] 9.6 [8.1-11.1] 8.8 [7.8-9.9]
Don't know

34.2 [29.4-38.9]

 33.4 [30.9-36.0] 30.2 [28.7-31.8]

Data source: Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2020.

Responses were fairly similar between males and females, though females seemed to perceive slightly greater harm of e-cigarettes (Figure 11.39). There appeared to be some differences across age groups, with more older respondents reporting ‘don’t know’ and fewer ‘somewhat less harmful’ (Figure 11.40).

Bar chart showing perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes with nicotine, among males and females, in 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 11.39 Data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 11.39: Perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes with nicotine (%), among males and females, 2020
Perception Males Females
Much less harmful than cigarettes 4.7 [3.9-5.6] 2.8 [2.1-3.4]
Somewhat less harmful than cigarettes 18.9 [17.4-20.4] 12.6 [11.4-13.9]
About the same as cigarettes 29.7 [27.8-31.7] 35.1 [33.3-36.9]
Somewhat more harmful than cigarettes 6.8 [5.8-7.8] 9.0 [7.9-10.1]
Much more harmful than cigarettes 7.7 [6.7-8.8] 10.2 [9.0-11.4]
Don't know 32.1 [30.4-33.9] 30.3 [28.5-32.1]

Data source: Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2020.

Bar chart showing perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes with nicotine, by age group, in 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 11.40 Data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 11.40: Perceived relative harm of e-cigarettes with nicotine (%), by age group, 2020
Perception 15-19 20-24 25-44 45+
Much less harmful than cigarettes 5.8 [4.4-7.2] 5.3 [4.0-6.7] 4.8 [3.6-6.0] 2.6 [2.0-3.2]
Somewhat less harmful than cigarettes 29.3 [26.6-31.9] 29.8 [27.0-32.7] 21.1 [18.8-23.4] 8.7 [7.7-9.7]
About the same as cigarettes 31.1 [28.3-34.0] 34.7 [31.8-37.7] 34.8 [32.0-37.6] 30.8 [29.1-32.6]
Somewhat more harmful than cigarettes 11.3 [9.3-13.2] 8.0 [6.3-9.7] 7.7 [6.2-9.1] 7.7 [6.7-9.7]
Much more harmful than cigarettes 6.0 [4.5-7.4] 6.7 [5.1-8.3] 6.8 [5.4-8.1] 11.1 [9.9-12.3]
Don't know 16.5 [14.3-18.7] 15.4 [13.1-17.6] 24.9 [22.5-27.3] 39.2 [37.4-41.0]

Data source: Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2020.