As shown in Figure 12.9, prevalence of e-cigarette use varied greatly by smoking status, both for ever use160 and past 30-day use.161
Half (54.1%a) of current smokers (including daily and non-daily smokers) had ever used e-cigarettes, compared to 8.5%b of non-smokers (including former and never smokers). Similarly, past 30-day use was 12.3%c among current smokers and just 1.2%d among non-smokers. Daily e-cigarette use was 3.0%e among current smokers and 0.6%f among non-smokers.
Figure 12.9 Data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 12.9: Ever use and past 30-day use of e-cigarettes by smoking status among Canadians age 15+, 2017
| Smoking status |
Ever use |
Past 30-day use |
Daily use |
| Daily smoker |
54.0 [47.9-60.2] |
12.9 [8.8-17.1] |
1.9 [0.7-3.1] |
| Non-daily smoker |
54.3 [44.3-64.2] |
10.8 [6.3-15.4] |
5.8 [2.7-8.8] |
| Former smoker |
12.9 [9.9-15.9] |
2.2 [1.2-3.3] |
1.7 [0.8-2.6] |
| Never smoker |
6.7 [5.5-7.8] |
0.7 [0.5-1.0] |
0.1 [0.1-0.2] |
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, 2017
Prevalence by sex, among smokers and non-smokers
As shown in Figure 12.10, prevalence of using e-cigarettes was similar among male and female smokers for both ever use and past 30-day use.162,163
Among non-smokers, ever-use of e-cigarettes was significantly more prevalent among males,164 but past 30-day use did not differ significantly by sex.165
This pattern held among youth aged 15-19, with greater sex differences observed among non-smokers than smokers (data not shown).
Figure 12.10 Data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 12.10: Ever use and past 30-day use of e-cigarettes among Canadians age 15+, by sex and smoking status*, 2017
| E-cigarette use |
Smoking status |
Male |
Female |
| Ever use |
Smoker |
56.2 [49.3-63.2] |
51.6 [43.7-59.5] |
| Ever use |
Non-smoker |
11.4 [9.3-13.6] |
5.8 [4.7-7.0] |
| Past 30-day use |
Smoker |
14.1 [9.5-18.6] |
10.3 [5.9-14.7] |
| Past 30-day use |
Non-smoker |
1.5 [1.0-2.1] |
0.9 [0.4-1.3] |
Smokers includes daily and non-daily smokers; Non-smokers includes former and never smokers
Data source: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2017
Prevalence by age group, among smokers and non-smokers
Prevalence of using e-cigarettes differed significantly by age among both smokers and non-smokers.166,167 While smokers had much higher prevalence than non-smokers, the same pattern of greater use among youth and younger adults, declining with age, was observed in both groups (Figure 12.11, Figure 12.12).
Figure 12.11 and 12.12 data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 12.11 and 12.12: Ever use of e-cigarettes by age group among smokers and non-smokers, 2017
| |
15-19 |
20-24 |
25-34 |
35-44 |
45+ |
| Smokers |
78.2 [71.5-84.9] |
75.3 [69.1-81.5] |
74.3 [61.5-87.2] |
61.4 [48.8-73.9] |
37.7 [30.9-44.4] |
| Non-smokers |
18.1 [16.0-20.2] |
20.7 [18.4-22.9] |
14.7 [10.0-19.4] |
8.5 [4.7-12.4] |
3.6 [2.4-4.8] |
Smokers includes daily and non-daily smokers
Non-smokers includes former and never smokers
Data source: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2017
Use of e-cigarettes in the past 30 days also varied by smoking status and age group,168,169 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 12.13, Figure 12.14).
Figure 12.13 and 12.14 data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 12.13 and 12.14: Past 30-day use of e-cigarettes by age group among smokers and non-smokers, 2017
| |
15-19 |
20-24 |
25-44 |
45+ |
| Smokers |
31.0 [23.3-38.8] |
22.2 [16.9-27.6] |
12.0 [5.7-18.4] |
9.6 [5.5-13.6] |
| Non-smokers |
4.2 [3.1-5.4] |
3.0 [1.9-4.1] |
0.8 * [0.4-1.2] |
* Age groups 25-44 and 45+ combined due to low numbers. Non-smokers includes former and never smokers
Data source: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2017
95% confidence intervals for in-text estimates
a: 54.1 [49.0-59.2]
b: 8.5 [7.3-9.7]
c: 12.3 [9.1-15.6]
d: 1.2 [0.8-1.6]
e: 3.0 [1.8-4.2]
f: 0.6 [0.3-0.9]
