Prevalence among students in grades 7-9

Bar chart showing percentage of youth who have ever tried various tobacco products, grades 7 to 9, from 2018 to 2019. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals. In 2018-19, one in 20 students in grades 7-9 reported having ever smoked a cigar or cigarillo (Figure 9.1). Fewer reported having used a waterpipe (2.8%) or smokeless tobacco product (2.1%).

Between 2016-17 and 2018-19, there were no significant changes in ever use of cigars/cigarillos⁴⁷ or waterpipe⁴⁸ among students in grades 7-9, but ever use of smokeless tobacco increased.⁴⁹ As shown in Figure 9.2, ever use of cigars/cigarillos and smokeless tobacco both dropped substantially in the decade after 1994; cigar/cigarillo use continued to decrease after 2008-09, while smokeless remained low. Pipe use and waterpipe use remained relatively low in all years measured.

NOTE: CSTADS 2018-19 asked past 30-day frequency of use of each product; options indicating ever use were grouped (vs. “I have never tried”). CSTADS 2014-15 and 2016-17 asked about ever use of each product (yes/no), and previous years asked in a “check all that apply” format. Estimates may not be comparable over time.

Figure 9.1 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 9.1: Percentage of youth who have ever tried various tobacco products, grades 7-9, 2018-19
	Grades 7-9
Cigars/Cigarillos	5.1 [4.5-5.7]
Waterpipe	2.8 [2.3-3.3]
Smokeless tobacco (Chewing tobacco/Snuff)	2.1 [1.8-2.4]

Data source: Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS) 2018-19.

Line graph showing percentage of youth in grades 7 to 9 who have ever tried various tobacco products, from 1994 to 2018-19. Trends described in text. Data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 9.2 data table with 95% confidence intervals

Figure 9.2: Percentage of youth in Grades 7-9 who have ever tried various tobacco products, 1994 to 2018-19
	Cigars/Cigarillos (+ Pipe for 1994-2004-05)	Smokeless tobacco	Waterpipe	Pipe
1994	25.9	11.8	N/A	N/A
2002	18.8	4.8	N/A	N/A
2004-05	13.3 [12.1-14.5]	3.3 [2.1-4.5]	N/A	N/A
2006-07	14.5 [11.7-17.3]	3.9 [3.1-4.6]	3.1 [2.1-4.1]	3.2 [2.4-4.0]
2008-09	14.9 [13.7-16.1]	2.2 [1.8-2.6]	N/A	3.7 [3.1-4.3]
2010-11	9.4 [8.4-10.4]	1.7 [1.3-2.1]	2.8 [2.1-3.6]	2.8 [2.3-3.4]
2012-13	8.4 [6.9-10.0]	1.7 [1.3-2.2]	4.3 [3.4-5.2]	2.4 [1.8-3.0]
2014-15	6.0 [3.9-8.1]	1.8 [1.2-2.3]	4.5 [3.4-5.7]	N/A
2016-17	4.7 [4.2-5.2]	1.5 [1.2-1.7]	3.2	N/A
2018-19	5.1 [4.5-5.7]	2.1 [1.8-2.4]	2.8 [2.3-3.3]	N/A

NOTE: Cigars and pipe were asked as a single item prior to 2006-07; pipe asked as a seperate item only from 2006-07 to 2012-13; items for cigars and cigarillos have been combined from 2008-09 up to 2016-17, but asked as a single "Cigars, little cigars or cigarillos" item in 2006-17 and 2018-19; items for chewing tobacco and snuff were combined up to 2006-07, but asked as a single "Smokeless tobacco" item from 2008-09 onward; waterpipe not asked in 2008-09.
Data sources: Youth Smoking Survey, 1994, 2002, 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13; Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2014-15, 2016-17, 2018-19.