Grades 7-9

Ever smoking - Grades 7-9

In 2016-17, the majority (91.4%^a) of students surveyed in grades 7-9 had never tried smoking cigarettes, ranging from 95.6%^b in grade 7 to 86.5%^c in grade 9. However, 8.6%^d of students overall had tried smoking. Figure 7.1 (below) provides a breakdown of the smoking status of these students.

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 7.1 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Smoking status of students in grades 7-9 who had ever tried smoking cigarettes, 2016-17
Daily smoker	0.4 [0.3-0.6]
Non-daily smoker	0.5 [0.4-0.6]
Former smoker	0.2 [0.1-0.2]
Beginner/ Experimenter	1.3 [1.1-1.5]
Past Experimenter	1.4 [1.2-1.6]
Puffer	4.8 [4.3-5.3]
Never tried	91.4 [90.6-92.2]

Current smoker: smoked 100+ cigarettes in lifetime, including:

Daily smoker: at least one cigarette per day for each of the 30 days preceding the survey
Non-daily smoker: at least one cigarette during the last 30 days, but not every day

Former smoker: smoked 100+ cigarettes in lifetime and has not smoked at all in the last 30 days

Beginner/Experimenter: smoked ≥1 whole cigarette and has smoked in the last 30 days

Past experimenter: smoked ≥1 whole cigarette and has not smoked at all in the last 30 days

Puffer: tried a few puffs, but never smoked a whole cigarette

Data Source: Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS), 2016-17

In 2016-17, the percentages of male (9.1%)^e and female (8.1%)^f students in grades 7-9 who had tried smoking cigarettes were not significantly different.⁷⁸

The overall percentage of students in grades 7-9 who had ever tried smoking dropped substantially between 1994 and 2002, and appears to have declined slowly since then; the slight decrease in prevalence of ever smoking between 2014-15 and 2016-17 was not statistically significant⁷⁹ (Figure 7.2). The percentage of students who had tried smoking a cigarette increased with grade level: in 2016-17, 4.4%^g of students in grade 7 had tried smoking, compared to 13.5%^h of grade 9 students.

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 7.2 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Percentage of students in grades 7-9 who have ever tried smoking a cigarette, by grade, 1994-2016-17
Survey Year	1994	2002	2004-05	2006-07	2008-09	2010-11	2012-13	2014-15	2016-2017
Overall	51.9	31.5	26.2	25.7	25.6	18.4	16.4	9.8 [7.6-12.0]	8.6 [7.8-9.4]
Grade 7	40.2	21.2	17.8	16.8	15.0	9.0	9.8	3.9 [2.2-5.6]	4.4 [3.5-5.3]
Grade 8	55.3	32.2	26.6	24.7	25.5	19.2	15.0	9.4 [7.4-11.5]	7.6 [6.7-8.6]
Grade 9	60.0	41.9	34.3	35.2	35.7	26.7	24.0	15.5 [11.6-19.3]	13.5 [12.1-15.0]

Data source: Youth Smoking Survey, 1994, 2002, 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13; Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS) 2014-2015, 2016-2017.

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals. The percentage of students in grades 7-9 who had ever tried smoking a cigarette varied significantly by province⁸⁰ (Figure 7.3). For example, 4.7% of youth in Ontario had tried smoking, while more than triple that (16.4%) in Saskatchewan had tried.

Note that there are no provincial estimates reported for New Brunswick, as the province declined to participate in the 2016-17 cycle of CSTADS.

Figure 7.3 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Percentage of students in Grades 7-9 who have ever tried smoking a cigarette, by province*, 2016-2017
Canada	8.6 [7.8-9.4]
British Columbia	5.8 [3.8-7.8]
Alberta	8.5 [6.7-10.3]
Saskatchewan	16.4 [13.1-19.7]
Manitoba	11.4 [8.8-13.9]
Ontario	4.7 [3.6-5.7]
Quebec	14.9 [12.7-17.2]
Nova Scotia	13.0 [9.0-17.1]
Prince Edward Island	10.8 [9.2-12.5]
Newfoundland & Labrador	12.1 [9.7-14.5]

*New Brunswick declined to participate in the 2016-17 cycle of CSTADS.
Data source: Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS), 2016-2017

95% confidence intervals for in-text estimates

a: 91.4 [90.6-92.2]
b: 95.6 [94.7-96.5]
c: 86.5 [85.0-87.9]
d: 8.6 [7.8-9.4]
e: 9.1 [8.0-10.1]
f: 8.1 [7.3-9.0]
g: 4.4 [3.5-5.3]
h: 13.5 [12.1-15.0]