E-cigarette prevalence by smoking status

As shown in Figure 12.10, prevalence of e-cigarette use varied greatly by smoking status, both for ever use¹⁴³ and past 30-day use.¹⁴⁴

Half (51.0%^a) of current smokers (including daily and non-daily smokers) had ever used e-cigarettes, compared to 7.6%^b of non-smokers (including former and never smokers). Similarly, past 30-day use was 15.5%^c among current smokers and just 1.4%^d among non-smokers.

Figure 12.10 Data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 12.10: Ever use and past 30-day use of e-cigarettes by smoking status among Canadians age 15+, 2015
Smoking status	Ever use	Past 30-day use
Daily smoker	53.1 [47.9-58.4]	16.3 [12.6-20.0]
Non-daily smoker	45.5 [37.8-53.2]	13.6 [9.1-18.1]
Former smoker	12.2 [10.2-14.2]	2.9 [1.8-3.9]
Never smoker	5.6 [4.8-6.3]	0.7 [0.4-0.9]

Daily smoker: responded "every day" to "At the present time do you smoke cigarettes every day, occasionally or not at all?"; Non-daily smoker: responded "occasionally" to "At the present time do you smoke cigarettes every day, occasionally or not at all?"; Former smoker: smoked “not at all” at the time of the survey, but had smoked 100+ cigarettes in lifetime.

Data Source: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2015.

Prevalence by sex, among smokers and non-smokers

Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2015. See data table with 95% confidence intervals below. As shown in Figure 12.11, prevalence of using e-cigarettes was similar among male and female smokers for both ever use and past 30-day use.^145,146

Among non-smokers, ever-use of e-cigarettes was significantly more prevalent among males,¹⁴⁷ but past 30-day use did not differ significantly by sex.¹⁴⁸

Figure 12.11 Data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 12.11: Ever use and past 30-day use of e-cigarettes among Canadians age 15+, by sex and smoking status, 2015
E-cigarette use	Smoking status	Male	Female
Ever use	Smoker	51.0 [45.1-56.8]	51.1 [44.8-57.3]
Ever use	Non-smoker	9.6 [8.2-11.0]	5.8 [4.9-6.7]
Past 30-day use	Smoker	14.9 [11.3-18.6]	16.4 [11.4-21.4]
Past 30-day use	Non-smoker	1.5 [1.0-2.1]	1.2 [0.7-1.7]

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

Prevalence by age group, among smokers and non-smokers

While there were large differences between smokers and non-smokers in ever use of e-cigarettes, the same pattern of high use among youth and young adults, declining with age, was observed in both groups (Figure 12.12, Figure 12.13).^149,150

Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2015. See data table with 95% confidence intervals below.

Figure 12.12 and 12.13 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 12.12 and 12.13: Ever use of e-cigarettes by age group among smokers and non-smokers, 2015
	15-19	20-24	25-34	35-44	45+
Smokers	82.5 [75.4-89.6]	80.0 [73.6-86.4]	57.4 [45.6-69.3]	39.7 [29.2-50.3]	42.0 [35.9-48.1]
Non-smokers	19.6 [16.8-22.4]	19.4 [16.3-22.4]	11.3 [8.3-14.4]	6.4 [4.4-8.3]	3.5 [2.6-4.4]

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

Use of e-cigarettes in the past 30 days also varied by smoking status and age group,^151,152 again with much higher use observed among smokers than non-smokers and similar patterns by age group, although at much lower prevalence levels than for ever use (Figure 12.14, Figure 12.15).

Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2015. See data table with 95% confidence intervals below.