10.3% of Canadians (approximately 3.2 million) were current smokers, significantly lower than the 2019 estimate of 11.9%.
The majority of smokers reported smoking daily (8.0% daily/2.4% non-daily prevalence).
Smoking prevalence was higher among males (12.1%) than females (8.6%).
Prevalence was highest among adults aged 45 to 54 and 55+, at 11.4%. Prevalence was lowest among youth aged 15 to 19, at 3.1%.
Smoking prevalence differed between provinces.
Cigarette Consumption
Daily smokers in Canada smoked an average of 12.5 cigarettes per day.
Average consumption has declined by nearly 5 cigarettes per day since 1999.
Male daily smokers consumed about 3 cigarettes more per day than females (13.3 vs. 10.2).
In 2021, Canadians purchased nearly 21 billion cigarettes.
Use of Other Tobacco Products
Cigarillos and cigars were the most popular tobacco products other than cigarettes: 2.5% of Canadians reported using cigarillos or cigars in the past 30 days.
Cigar and cigarillo use were more prevalent among males.
Young people aged 15-24 reported the highest prevalence of cigar and cigarillo use.
Quitting Smoking, 2020
The majority (70.6%) of Canadians who have ever been smokers have now quit.
Quit Attempts and Success
Almost half of smokers (44.5%) had tried to quit in the past year; nearly one-third (31.8%) tried more than once.
Similar percentages of males and females had made a quit attempt in the past year.
Quit attempts were similar across age groups.
Among respondents who had made a quit attempt in the past year, 15.4% were still abstinent from smoking at the time they were surveyed.
Cessation Assistance
Over two-thirds of smokers who attempted to quit used some form of cessation assistance.
The most commonly used forms of cessation assistance were nicotine replacement therapy (31.8%), and e-cigarettes (26.5%).
Tobacco Use among Canadian Youth
Youth in Grades 7-9, in 2018-19:
Nearly one in ten students in grades 7-9 (9.3%) had ever tried smoking a cigarette.
1.0% of students in grades 7-9 were current smokers overall, varying by grade.
Similar proportions were daily (0.4%) and non-daily (0.6%) smokers.
Smoking prevalence was similar between males (1.1%) and females (0.9%).
Daily smokers in grades 7-9 smoked an average of 8.8 cigarettes per day.
5.1% of students in grades 7-9 had ever smoked a cigar or cigarillo.
Most smokers in grades 7-9 usually obtained their cigarettes from social sources.
The majority of current smokers in grades 7-9 reported ever trying to quit smoking.
Youth Aged 15-19, in 2020:
One in ten youth (10.5%) aged 15-19 reported ever having smoked a whole cigarette.
More males (12.8%) than females (7.8%) had smoked a whole cigarette.
Overall, 3.1% of youth aged 15-19 were current smokers (including daily and non-daily).
E-cigarette Use among Canadians (15+), 2020
Vaping Prevalence
A substantial number of Canadians had tried e-cigarettes, but fewer reported regular use: 16.6% (5.2 million) reported having ever tried an e-cigarette; 4.7% had used one in the past 30 days, and 2.3% reported daily use.
Between 2019 and 2020, prevalence of e-cigarette use did not change significantly, for ever, past 30-day, or daily use.
E-cigarette use was most prevalent among young people: 35.2% of youth aged 15-19 and 43.3% of young adults aged 20-24 reported ever trying an e-cigarette.
Prevalence of e-cigarette use was much greater among smokers: 47.5% of current smokers had ever used e-cigarettes, compared to 13.0% of non-smokers. Past 30-day use was 16.5% among current smokers and 3.3% among non-smokers.
E-cigarette Products and Sources
Most past 30-day vapers (84.4%) reported using an e-liquid with nicotine in the past month, while just one in five (21.1%) reported using an e-liquid without nicotine.
Fruit and mint/menthol were the most popular usual flavours of e-cigarettes. Fruit was more popular among younger users, and tobacco flavour was more common among older users.
The majority of vapers got their e-cigarette devices and liquids from vape shops.
Perceptions and Reasons for Use
Nearly one-third of all respondents believed that e-cigarettes with nicotine were about as harmful as cigarettes, and another third did not know how harmful they were compared to cigarettes.
Among past 30-day users, more than one-third (37.6%) reported that their main reason for using e-cigarettes was to quit, cut down on, or avoid returning to smoking cigarettes.
Quitting E-cigarettes
More than one-third of past 30-day e-cigarette users (36.4%) reported that they had attempted to quit vaping in the past year.
Youth in Grades 7-9, in 2018-19:
21.0% of Canadian students in grades 7-9 reported having ever tried an e-cigarette, and 11.1% had used one in the past 30 days.
Nearly 9 in 10 current smokers in grades 7-9 had used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, compared to approximately 7% of non-smokers.