E-cigarette prevalence by age | Tobacco Use in Canada

Ever Use

Prevalence of ever using e-cigarettes varied significantly by age group:⁶⁹ use was highest among young adults aged 20-24, as well as youth, and decreased with age into adulthood. Between 2019 and 2020, ever use decreased significantly among adults aged 20-24 and increased significantly among adults aged 35-44, while no significant change was observed among other age groups.^70-74

Among youth aged 15-19, the prevalence of ever trying e-cigarettes was much higher than for cigarettes (10.5%)^a or any other tobacco product (see Figure 9.1).

Line graph showing prevalence of ever use of e-cigarettes among Canadians age 15+, by age group, from 2013 to 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 11.3 Data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 11.3: Prevalence (%) of ever use of e-cigarettes among Canadians age 15+, by age group, 2013-2020
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]
2019	36.0 [32.9-39.1]	48.2 [44.7-51.7]	27.1 [23.2-30.9]	13.8 [11.4-16.2]	6.7 [5.8-7.6]
2020	35.2 [32.2-38.2]	43.3 [40.2-46.3]	26.5 [22.7-30.4]	17.6 [14.7-20.4]	7.4 [6.5-8.3]

Data sources: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017; Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2019, 2020.

Past 30-day Use

Past 30-day use of e-cigarettes also varied significantly by age group:⁷⁵ prevalence was highest among youth and young adults (Figure 11.4). Between 2019 and 2020, past 30-day use did not change significantly in any age group.^76-80

Among youth aged 15-19, past 30-day use of e-cigarettes was much greater than for cigarette smoking, which was reported by 3.1%^b.

Of those who reported ever trying an e-cigarette, use in the past 30 days varied significantly by age group:⁸¹ 40.9%^c of ever-users aged 15-19 had used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, as well as 30.1%^d aged 20-24, 20.9%^e aged 25-34, 27.2%^f aged 35-44, and 26.6%^g aged 45 and older.

Line graph showing prevalence of past 30-day use of e-cigarettes among Canadians age 15+, by age group, from 2013 to 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 11.4 Data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 11.4: 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]	!	2.8	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]
2019	15.1 [12.8-17.4]	15.2 [12.8-17.6]	6.5 [4.2-8.7]	3.5 [2.3-4.8]	1.6 [1.2-2.0]
2020	14.4 [12.2-16.6]	13.0 [10.9-15.1]	5.6 [3.6-7.5]	4.8 [3.0-6.5]	2.0 [1.4-2.5]

! Estimate for age 25-34 in 2013 suppressed due to unacceptable quality.

Data sources: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2013, 2015, 2017; Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2019, 2020.

Daily Use

Overall prevalence of daily e-cigarette use varied significantly by age group,⁸² reported by over 5% of young people under the age of 25, but just 1.2%^h of adults aged 45 and older (Figure 11.5).

Between 2019 and 2020, daily use did not change significantly in any age group.^83-86

Of those reporting e-cigarette use in the past 30 days, the proportion using daily also differed significantly by age group, but with a contrasting pattern:⁸⁷ 36.8%ⁱ of users aged 15-19, 42.4%^j of users aged 20-24, 54.5%^k of users aged 25-44, and 59.6%^l of users aged 45 and older.

Figure 11.5 Data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 11.5: Prevalence (%) of daily use of e-cigarettes among canadians age 15+, by age group, 2015-2020
Age	15-19	20-24	25-44	45+
2015	1.3*		1.1	0.9
2017	1.8*		1.2	0.6
2019	4.7 [3.3-6.0]	5.8 [4.1-7.6]	2.4 [1.6-3.3]	1.0 [0.7-1.4]
2020	5.3 [3.9-6.7]	5.5 [4.1-6.9]	2.8 [1.9-3.7]	1.2 [0.8-1.6]

*Age groups 15-19 and 20-24 combined in 2015 and 2017 due to low numbers.
Data sources: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2015, 2017; Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2019, 2020.

95% confidence intervals for in-text estimates

a: 10.5 [8.5-12.4]
b: 3.2 [2.0-4.3]
c: 40.9 [35.9-46.0]
d: 30.1 [25.7-34.6]
e: 20.9 [14.0-27.9]
f: 27.2 [18.8-35.7]
g: 26.6 [20.3-32.9]
h: 1.2 [0.8-1.6]
i: 36.8 [28.7-44.9]
j: 42.4 [34.1-50.6]
k: 54.5 [40.7-68.2]
l: 59.6 [45.5-73.7]