In 2023, the provinces with the highest share of the population that were current smokers were Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. In Newfoundland and Labrador, an estimated 15.4 percent of the population smoked at that time, while the national average for Canada was around 11 percent. Smoking increases the risk of a number of health problems, including heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and many types of cancer. How many Canadians smoke? In 2023, it was estimated that around 3.56 million people in Canada smoked daily or occasionally. Smoking in Canada is more common among males than females, however, rates of smoking have decreased for both over the past decade. In 2023, around 13 percent of males were current smokers compared to 10 percent of females. Cigarettes remain the most popular form of tobacco consumption in Canada, followed by vaping and little cigars or cigarillos. Quitting smoking Smoking is addictive and can be extremely difficult to quit. In 2022, around 11 percent of smokers in Canada attempted quitting once in the past 12 months, while a further 12 percent tried quitting three to four times, and 8 percent tried four or more times. At that time, around 26 percent of those who tried quitting used nicotine replacement products, however, most simply tried to quit on their own. To help reduce smoking in Canada, around 40 percent of smokers think the government should make stop smoking clinics, services, and products freely available, but only 21 percent are in favor of raising the legal age to buy tobacco and other nicotine products to 21.

Number and percentage of persons being current smokers, by age group and sex.

This table contains 25872 series, with data for years 1994 - 1998 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (not all combinations are available): Geography (11 items: Canada; Newfoundland and Labrador; Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island ...), Age group (14 items: Total; 12 years and over; 12-14 years; 12-19 years; 15-19 years ...), Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Females; Males ...), Smoking (7 items: Total population for the variable smoking; Occasional smoker; Former smoker; Daily smoker ...), Characteristics (8 items: Number of persons; Coefficient of variation for number of persons; Low 95% confidence interval - number of persons; High 95% confidence interval - number of persons ...).

This table contains 6336 series, with data for years 2000 - 2000 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (not all combinations are available): Geography (11 items: Canada; Newfoundland and Labrador; Prince Edward Island; Nova Scotia ...), Age group (6 items: Total; 12 years and over; 20-34 years; 35-44 years; 12-19 years ...), Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Women; Men ...), Smoking status - 1994/95 and 2000/01 (4 items: Smokers in 1994/95; Smokers in 1994/95 who quit by 2000/01; Smokers in 1994/95 who did not quit by 2000/01; Smokers in 1994/95 who did not state their smoking status by 2000/01 ...), Characteristics (8 items: Number of persons; Low 95% confidence interval - number of persons; Coefficient of variation - number of persons; High 95% confidence interval - number of persons ...).

This statistic shows the share of adults aged 15 years and older who smoke in Canada in 2017, by province. According to the study, **** percent of Canadians in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador were daily or non-daily smokers in 2017.

In 2020/21, around 87 percent of cancer care settings in Canada offered smoking cessation support. The share of cancer care settings offering smoking cessation support has increased significantly over the past decade. This statistic shows the percentage of cancer care settings in Canada that offered smoking cessation support from 2012 to 2021.

This table contains 359856 series, with data for years 2005 - 2005 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (160 items: Canada; Newfoundland and Labrador; Central Regional Integrated Health Authority; Newfoundland and Labrador; Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority; Newfoundland and Labrador ...) Age group (14 items: Total; 12 years and over; 12 to 19 years; 12 to 14 years; 15 to 19 years ...) Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Males; Females ...) Smoking initiation (7 items: Total population for the variable smoking initiation; Smoking initiation age (5 to 11 years); Smoking initiation age (12 to 14 years); Smoking initiation age (15 to 19 years) ...) Characteristics (8 items: Number of persons; Coefficient of variation for number of persons; Low 95% confidence interval; number of persons; High 95% confidence interval; number of persons ...).

This statistic displays cigarette smoking behavior in Canada as of May 2019, broken down by region. Some ** percent of survey respondents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan stated that they had never smoked cigarettes.

This table contains 205632 series, with data for years 2005 - 2005 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (160 items: Canada; Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority; Newfoundland and Labrador; Central Regional Integrated Health Authority; Newfoundland and Labrador; Newfoundland and Labrador ...), Age group (14 items: Total; 12 years and over;12 to 19 years;12 to 14 years;15 to 19 years ...), Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Females; Males ...), Exposure to second-hand smoke at home (4 items: Total non-smoking population; Exposed to second-hand smoke at home; Exposure to second-hand smoke at home; not stated; No exposure to second-hand smoke at home ...), Characteristics (8 items: Number of persons; Low 95% confidence interval; number of persons; Coefficient of variation for number of persons; High 95% confidence interval; number of persons ...).

Notes:*Multilevel null model with random intercepts for province adjusted.**Multilevel model with random intercepts for province and adjusted for age, sex, marital status, occupation, and education.

Smoking initiation (average age), by age group and sex, household population aged 12 and over, smokers and former smokers, Canada, provinces, territories, health regions (June 2003 boundaries) and peer groups

Manitoba was home to the highest cigarette prices in Canada as of March 2018. Consumers were paying 139.83 Canadian dollars for a pack of 200 cigarettes, almost 30 dollars more than the national average cigarette price at 112.06 dollars in the same month. Consumers could find the cheapest cigarette cartons for just 96.36 Canadian dollars in Quebec. Cigarette prices in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, were the second lowest.

Why are cigarettes more expensive in some regions?

Smoking products are tightly regulated across Canada, with regulations and legal smoking ages varying between provinces. Tobacco taxes can be used to dissuade consumers from purchasing cigarettes, in order to reduce smoking rates and related diseases. Canadian provinces have their own governmental budgets and, therefore, the power to implement their own tobacco taxes. This creates differences in prices across the country.

The e-cigarette market

May 2018 was a milestone month for the tobacco industry, with regulatory framework passing to legalize the manufacturing and sale of vaping products in Canada. Similar to cigarette retailing, tight regulations will apply to the sale of vaping products and will vary province to province. Almost 60 percent of Canadian consumers were quite familiar with vaping in 2019. According to the same survey, Canadians who had tried vaping were most likely to be aged between 18 and 34.

Smoking status, by age group and sex, Inuit population aged 15 years and over, Canada and Inuit Nunangat (occasional).

This table contains 468048 series, with data for years 2000 - 2000 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (not all combinations are available): Geography (199 items: Canada; Newfoundland and Labrador; Health and Community Services Eastern Region; Newfoundland and Labrador (Peer group D); Health and Community Services St. John's Region; Newfoundland and Labrador (Peer group H) ...), Age group (14 items: Total; 12 years and over; 15-19 years; 12-19 years; 12-14 years ...), Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Males; Females ...), Smoking (7 items: Total population for the variable smoking; Occasional smoker; Former smoker; Daily smoker ...), Characteristics (8 items: Number of persons; Low 95% confidence interval - number of persons; High 95% confidence interval - number of persons; Coefficient of variation for number of persons ...).

In Newfoundland, Canada a customer would have to pay 15.92 Canadian dollars for a pack of 20 cigarettes as of April 2023. This is the most expensive price compared to other provinces. For example, in Quebec, a pack of 20 cigarettes cost consumers only 11.68 Canadian dollars.

Smoking in Canada

In February 2023, monthly cigarette sales were at about 990 million, slightly lower than during the year before. Cigarette sales in Canada have generally been declining and that is mirrored by the number of smokers in Canada. As of 2021, only about 12 percent of Canadians smoke daily or occasionally compared to 23 percent in 2003.

Attitudes towards e-cigarettes Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are becoming much more popular because they are believed to be safer than traditional cigarettes. The e-cigarette market value worldwide is expected to exceed 26 billion euros by 2027, more than quadruple the market value in 2014. Not all Canadians believe that e-cigarettes are the ideal outcome, though. A 2021 survey showed that over half of Canadians strongly agreed that, instead of switching to vaping products, the government should focus more on getting smokers to quit using nicotine altogether.

This table contains 392784 series, with data for years 2003 - 2003 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years), and was last released on 2007-08-13. This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (167 items: Canada; Newfoundland and Labrador; Health and Community Services St. John's Region; Newfoundland and Labrador; Health and Community Services Eastern Region; Newfoundland and Labrador ...) Age group (14 items: Total; 12 years and over; 12 to 14 years; 15 to 19 years; 12 to 19 years ...) Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Males; Females ...) Smoking status (7 items: Total population for the variable smoking status; Occasional smoker; Former smoker; Daily smoker ...) Characteristics (8 items: Number of persons; Low 95% confidence interval; number of persons; High 95% confidence interval; number of persons; Coefficient of variation for number of persons ...).

This table contains 286560 series, with data for years 2000 - 2000 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (199 items: Canada; Health and Community Services Eastern Region; Newfoundland and Labrador (Peer group D); Health and Community Services St. John's Region; Newfoundland and Labrador (Peer group H); Newfoundland and Labrador ...) Age group (15 items: Total; 12 years and over; 12-19 years; 12-14 years; 15-19 years ...) Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Females; Males ...) Exposure to second-hand smoke (ETS) (4 items: Total population for the variable exposure to second-hand smoke; Exposure to second-hand smoke; not stated; No exposure to second-hand smoke in the last month; Exposure to second-hand smoke in the last month ...) Characteristics (8 items: Number of persons; Coefficient of variation for number of persons; High 95% confidence interval - number of persons; Low 95% confidence interval - number of persons ...).

The Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) was conducted by Statistics Canada from February to June 2004 with the cooperation and support of Health Canada. Statistics Canada has conducted smoking surveys on an ad hoc basis on behalf of Health Canada since the 1960s. These surveys have been done as supplements to the Canadian Labour Force Survey and as random digit dialing telephone surveys. In February 1994, a change in legislation was passed which allowed a reduction in cigarette taxes. Since there was no survey data from immediately before this legislative change, it was difficult for Health Canada or other interested analysts to measure exactly the impact of the change. As Health Canada wants to be able to monitor the consequences of legislative changes and anti-smoking policies on smoking behaviour, the Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) was designed to provide Health Canada and its partners/stakeholders with continual and reliable data on tobacco use and related issues. Since 1999, two CTUMS files have been released every year: a file with data collected from February to June and a file with the July to December data. Additionally, there is also a yearly summary. The present file covers the period from February to June 2004. The primary objective of the survey is to provide a continuous supply of smoking prevalence data against which changes in prevalence can be monitored. This objective differs from that of the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) which collects smoking data from a longitudinal sample to measure which individuals are changing their smoking behaviour, the possible factors which contribute to change, and the possible risk factors related to starting smoking and smoking duration. Because the NPHS collects data every two years and releases the data about a year after completing the collection cycle, it does not meet Health Canada's need for continuous coverage in time, rapid delivery of data, or sufficient detail of the most at-risk populations, namely 15 to 24 year olds. The Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey allows Health Canada to look at smoking prevalence by province-sex-age group, for age groups 15 to 19, 20 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 44 and 45 and over, on a semiannual and annual basis. Data will continue to be collected on an on-going basis depending on availability of funds.

A study was conducted by Health Canada to survey the general public, including non-smokers and smokers, in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia. The survey was conducted to measure knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of the population, both smokers and non-smokers, to serve as a baseline against which to measure and evaluate the impact of the smoking bans. A total of 1,468 adults, including 800 smokers, were surveyed in British Columbia on attitudes toward second-hand smoke and smoking in public places, during the same timeframe, also using a random-digit dial sampling process and trained, bilingual interviewers to administer the questionnaire. The margin of error for samples of this size is also plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, 19 times in 20 for the overall sample and plus or minus 3.5 per cent for smokers. The questionnaire was largely replicated from previous iterations with other provinces, although some items were changed based on the needs and laws in each province. Health Canada - Smoking: BC [2005] Final Report http://www.queensu.ca/cora/_files/POR-04-95.pdf Copyright (c) 2005 - Health Canada and Ekos Research Associates

This table contains 205632 series, with data for years 2005 - 2005 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (160 items: Canada; Newfoundland and Labrador; Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority; Newfoundland and Labrador; Central Regional Integrated Health Authority; Newfoundland and Labrador ...), Age group (14 items: Total; 12 years and over;12 to 14 years;15 to 19 years;12 to 19 years ...), Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Females; Males ...), Exposure to second-hand smoke in vehicles and public places (4 items: Total non-smoking population; Exposed to second-hand smoke in the past month; in public places; Exposure to second-hand smoke in the past month; in vehicles and public places; not stated; Exposed to second-hand smoke in the past month; in vehicles ...), Characteristics (8 items: Number of persons; High 95% confidence interval; number of persons; Coefficient of variation for number of persons; Low 95% confidence interval; number of persons ...).