Smoking prevalence by age

Bar chart showing current smoking prevalence by grade and age, grades 7 to 9, and age 15 to 19, in 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

As noted, data up to grade 9 is provided by CSTADS, and data from CTNS is used for older youth. There may be some overlap in coverage between grade 9 students and 15-year-olds. 

Among students in grades 7-9, the pattern of increasing use by grade was consistent over time, though the difference between grades appears to have decreased in recent years (Figure 7.4). After a substantial drop between 1994 and 2002, prevalence remained fairly low, and appears to have decreased further in the past decade.

Over time, smoking prevalence among youth aged 15-19 declined fairly steadily overall, although with some periods of stagnation (Figure 7.4). Estimates among youth aged 15-17 and aged 18-19 were not separately reportable in the most recent years.

Figure 7.3 data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 7.3: Current smoking prevalence (%) by grade/age, Grades 7-9, 2018-19, and age 15-19, 2020
  Grade 7* Grade 8 Grade 9 15-19*
Current 0.6 [0.3-0.8] 1.0 [0.7-1.2] 1.5 [1.1-1.8] 3.1 [2.0-4.3]
Daily 0.3 [0.1-0.4] 0.5 [0.3-0.6] 0.6 [0.4-0.8] 3.1 [2.0-4.3]
Non-daily 0.5 [0.3-0.7] 0.9 [0.6-1.2]

*Daily and non-daily combined for gr. 7 and age 15-19 due to low numbers.
Data sources: Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey, 2020; Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2018-2019.

Line graph showing current smoking prevalence by grade and age, grades 7 to 9, and age 15 to 19, from 1994 to 2020. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 7.4 data table with 95% confidence intervals
Figure 7.4: Current smoking prevalence+ (%) by grade/age, grades 7-9 and age 15-19, 1994-2020
  Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Age 15-17 Age 18-19
1994 5.6 10.7 13.7 N/A N/A
1999 N/A N/A N/A 23.4 34.3
2000 N/A N/A N/A 21.5 31
2001 N/A N/A N/A 18.4 29.3
2002 1.7 3.7 7.6 18.0 28.3
2003 N/A N/A N/A 14.9 24.2
2004
(Youth Smoking Survey
(YSS) 2004-05)		 0.8 2.4 4.8 14.0 25.6
2005 N/A N/A N/A 13.8 25.1
2006
(YSS 2006-07)		 1.4 3.2 6.7 10.9 21.7
2007 N/A N/A N/A 10.4 22.8
2008 (YSS 2008-09) 2.0 4.4 7.0 9.7 23.3
2009 N/A N/A N/A 9.7 18.0
2010 (YSS 2010-11) 0.7 2.7 4.9 8.9 17.6
2011 N/A N/A N/A 7.7 18.1
2012 (YSS 2012-13) 0.9 2.1 4.2 7.2 16.3
2013 N/A N/A N/A 6.3 17.7
2014-15     2.2 [0.8-3.6] N/A N/A
2015 N/A N/A N/A 6.1 [3.9-8.2] 14.5 [10.9-18.2]
2016-2017 0.3 [0.1-0.4] 0.6 [0.3-0.9] 1.9 [1.5-2.4] N/A N/A
2017 N/A N/A N/A 5.3 [3.9-6.8] 11.2 [8.6-13.9]
2019 N/A N/A N/A 5.1 [3.7-6.5]**
2020 N/A N/A N/A 3.1 [2.0-4.3]**

+For grades 7-9: current daily/non-daily smoker and smoked in past 30 days; for age 15-19: current daily or non-daily smoker.
*Exact estimates suppressed in 2014 due to unacceptable quality.  The upper bounds for the estimates are less than 2%.
**In 2019 and 2020, age groups 15-17 and 18-19 combined due to low numbers.
Data sources: Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS), 1999-2012; Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CTADS), 2013, 2015, 2017; Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey (CTNS), 2019, 2020; Youth Smoking Survey (YSS), 1994, 2002, 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13; Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS), 2014-15, 2016-2017, 2018-2019.