E-cigarette prevalence by age

Ever Use

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals. Prevalence of ever using e-cigarettes varied significantly by age group:¹³¹ use was highest among young adults aged 20-24 and 25-34, as well as youth, and decreased with age into adulthood (Figure 12.3). Between 2015 and 2017, ever use significantly increased only among adults aged 25-34 and 35-44.^132-136

Among youth aged 15-19, the prevalence estimate for ever trying e-cigarettes was higher than for cigarettes (16.4%)^a or any other tobacco product (see Figure 10.1).

Figure 12.3 Data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 12.3: Prevalence of ever use of e-cigarettes among Canadians age 15+, by age group, 2013-2017
Age	15-19	20-24	25-34	34-44	45+
2013	19.8 [17.5-22.1]	20.1 [17.5-22.8]	12.5 [9.2-15.8]	8.4 [6.3-10.6]	3.7 [3.0-4.5]
2015	25.7 [22.8-28.6]	30.5 [27.3-33.7]	18.0 [14.6-21.4]	11.5 [9.1-13.8]	7.9 [6.7-9.0]
2017	22.8 [20.6-24.9]	29.3 [26.9-31.7]	25.6 [20.4-30.8]	17.7 [13.4-22.1]	8.4 [6.9-9.8]

Data source: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017

Past 30-day Use

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals. Past 30-day use of e-cigarettes also varied significantly by age group:¹³⁷ prevalence was highest among youth and young adults (Figure 12.4). Between 2015 and 2017, past 30-day use did not change significantly in any age group.^138-141

Among youth aged 15-19, past 30-day use of e-cigarettes was comparable to cigarette smoking, which was reported by 6.6%^b.

Of those who reported ever trying an e-cigarette, use in the past 30 days varied significantly by age group:¹⁴² 27.6%^c of ever-users aged 15-19 had used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, as well as 20.7%^d aged 20-24, 14.6%^e aged 25-44, and 20.9%^f aged 45 and older.

Figure 12.4 Data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 12.4: Prevalence of past 30-day use of e-cigarettes among Canadians age 15+, by age group, 2013-2017
Age	15-19	20-24	25-34	35-44	45+
2013	2.6 [1.8-3.4]	3.9 [2.7-5.2]	2.4 [1.5-3.3]*		1.0 [0.5-1.4]
2015	6.3 [4.6-7.9]	6.3 [4.9-7.8]	4.6 [2.9-6.3]	2.2 [1.2-3.2]	2.1 [1.4-2.8]
2017	6.3 [5.0-7.5]	6.0 [4.8-7.3]	3.8 [1.5-6.2]	2.5 [1.0-4.0]	1.7 [1.1-2.4]

* 25-34 and 35-44 combined (25-44) for 2013 due to low numbers.

Data source: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017.

Daily Use

Overall prevalence of daily e-cigarette use varied significantly by age group,¹⁴³reported by 1.8%^g of young people aged 15-24, 1.2%^h of adults aged 25-44, and 0.6%ⁱ adults age 45 and older.

However, of those reporting using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, the proportion using daily did not differ significantly by age group:¹⁴⁴ 29.8%^j of users aged 15-24, 39.2%^k of users aged 25-44, and 32.0%^l aged 45 and older.

Similarly, among past 30-day users, the proportion using e-cigarettes on 20 or more of the past 30 days did not differ significantly by age group (35.1%^m among age 15-19, 31.1%ⁿ among 20-24, 45.7%^o among 25-44, and 34.7%^p among 45+).¹⁴⁵

The mean days of use in the past 30 were also similar across age groups (13.5^q among age 15-19, 11.3^r among 20-24, 15.2^s among 25-44, and 12.7^t among 45+).¹⁴⁶

95% confidence intervals for in-text estimates

a: 16.4 [14.4-18.3]
b: 6.6 [5.3-7.9]
c: 27.6 [22.5-32.7]
d: 20.7 [16.7-24.7]
e: 14.6 [8.3-21.0]
f: 20.9 [13.8-28.0]
g: 1.8 [1.4-2.3]
h: 1.2 [0.5-2.0]
i: 0.6 [0.2-0.9]
j: 29.8 [22.9-36.7]
k: 39.2 [18.8-59.6]
l: 32.0 [15.3-48.7]
m: 35.1 [25.3-45.0]
n: 31.1 [20.8-41.5]
o: 45.7 [24.5-66.9]
p: 34.7 [17.6-51.8]
q: 13.5 [11.0-16.1]
r: 11.3 [8.4-14.1]
s: 15.2 [9.3-21.0]
t: 12.7 [8.2-17.3]