Tobacco Consumption-Evolution and Trends-Tobacco and Health: Government Responses (PRB98-8E)

Over the past 30 years, Canadians’ smoking habits have evolved in the general direction of fewer smokers and lower tobacco consumption. There are, however, still disparities in tobacco-use patterns between the sexes and among different age groups, regions of Canada, and socio-economic and cultural groups.

The cigarette market in Canada has shrunk considerably over the past 16 years. While in 1982 domestic tobacco sales reached a peak of 73.2 billion "cigarette equivalents,"(1) by 1997 the figure was 49.8 billion, or a decrease of 32%.

The drop in daily consumption of cigarette equivalents by Canadians aged 15 and over began in the mid-1970s, and has continued steadily ever since. Daily per capita consumption has fallen by 50%, from 11.5 cigarette equivalents in 1973 to 5.8 in 1997.

Until the early 1980s, the cigarette price index generally followed the same trend as the consumer price index, although the latter increased 60% faster than the cigarette price index between 1950 and 1980. Between 1981 and 1992, however, as a result of major excise taxes imposed on tobacco products (see "Taxation of Tobacco Products"), the cigarette price index shot up six times faster than the consumer price index. In 1993, faced with a growing tobacco-smuggling problem, Canadian governments drastically cut taxes on tobacco products, thereby lowering the cigarette price index by 37% for that year alone.

The most recent figures, from Statistics Canada’s 1996-97 National Population Health Survey, indicate that 6.9 million Canadians (29% of the total population aged 15 and over) smoked cigarettes regularly or occasionally in 1996. This was a reduction from 1994-95, when the Survey found that this was the case for 31% of the total population aged 15 or over.

In 1996, more men than women smoked (31% and 26% respectively), and male smokers smoked more than female smokers. Although this difference between the sexes is significant, it is not as marked as it was in 1965, when 61% of men smoked compared to 38% of women. The difference in tobacco use between the sexes has been evening out gradually over the years, until in 1996-97 the proportion of girls aged 15 to 17 who smoked was actually higher than the proportion of boys in that age group who did so (29% vs. 22%).

Consumption patterns among both male and female smokers have changed little during the past 30 years. Over that time, the proportion of smokers who smoke more than 11 cigarettes a day has consistently hovered around 80% for males and 70% for females. According to the 1996-97 Survey, the figure was 80% among male smokers and 60% among female smokers.

In 1965, the percentage of the population who smoked varied between 42 and 45% in all Canadian provinces except Quebec, where the proportion was 51%. Starting in the mid-1970s, however, the proportion of smokers began to show regional differences. These can be grouped into three zones: the Atlantic Canada and Quebec, the Prairies, and British Columbia and Ontario. The 1996-97 Survey showed that 30 and 32% respectively of the population in Atlantic Canada and Quebec were smokers, 28% on the Prairies, and 20 and 25% respectively in British Columbia and Ontario.

The 1996-97 Survey also indicated that smoking rates are inversely proportional to levels of education. Of those who have never finished high school, 39% are smokers. This proportion drops gradually as the level of education rises (high school, college, university), to reach 16% among those with a university degree. There is a similar relationship between smoking rates and income levels (probably strongly correlated with levels of education). In the lowest income bracket, 42% smoke, compared to 20% of those in the highest income bracket.

Significant cultural differences emerge with respect to smoking. In 1994-95, 35% of Francophones smoked, 26% of Anglophones, and 15% of those from other cultural backgrounds. A study carried out by Health Canada in 1996-97 indicated that, while 32% of Canadians as a whole were smokers, the proportion jumped to 56% for members of First Nations, 57% for Metis and 72% for Inuit.

	Sex	Pop’n Estimate (‘000)	Daily (%)	Smokers Current (%)	Former (%)	Never (%)	Cigarettes/day daily smokers (mean#)
AGE GROUP
Total age 12+	Male	12099	26%	30%	31%	39%	18.9
	Female	12495	21%	25%	26%	48%	15.7
	Both	24595	24%	28%	29%	44%	17.3

Age 12-14	Male	580	**	6%	13%	80%	10.8
	Female	571	6%	10%	15%	75%	8.15
	Both	1151	4%	8%	14%	78%	9.08

Total age 15+	Male	11519	27%	31%	32%	36%
	Female	11924	22%	26%	27%	47%
	Both	23444	24%	29%	29%	42%

Age 15-19	Male	1086	21%	27%	17%	56%
	Female	1025	23%	31%	21%	48%
	Both	2110	22%	29%	18%	52%

Age 15-17	Male	683	17%	22%	19%	59%	12.6
	Female	601	21%	29%	22%	49%	10.8
	Both	1284	19%	25%	20%	54%	11.8

Age 18-44	Male	10836	32%	37%	23%	40%
	Female	11323	26%	31%	25%	44%
	Both	22160	29%	34%	24%	42%

Age 18-19	Male	403	28%	36%	14%	50%	13.9
	Female	424	26%	34%	19%	46%	11.8
	Both	826	27%	35%	16%	48%	12.8

Age 20-24	Male	948	31%	38%	18%	43%	15.3
	Female	924	25%	31%	22%	47%	13.2
	Both	1873	28%	35%	20%	45%	14.2

Age 25-34	Male	2209	31%	36%	19%	45%	18
	Female	2263	26%	31%	25%	44%	14.8
	Both	4472	28%	34%	22%	44%	16.4

Age 35-44	Male	2645	33%	37%	29%	34%	20.1
	Female	2593	27%	30%	27%	43%	16.8
	Both	5238	30%	33%	28%	38%	18.6

Age 45-54	Male	1922	28%	31%	38%	30%	21.4
	Female	1849	23%	25%	29%	45%	17.6
	Both	3771	25%	28%	34%	37%	19.5

Age 55-64	Male	1231	23%	26%	47%	26%	20.5
	Female	1334	19%	21%	29%	49%	17.1
	Both	2565	21%	24%	38%	38%	18.8
Age 65-74	Male	930	17%	20%	55%	25%	18
	Female	1166	13%	15%	30%	55%	16.1
	Both	2096	15%	17%	41%	42%	17

Age 75+	Male	549	11%	13%	60%	26%	17.2
	Female	771	7%	9%	27%	63%	14.4
	Both	1320	8%	11%	41%	48%	15.6

EDUCATION
Less than High School	Male	3764	38%	42%	31%	27%	19.8
	Female	3762	33%	36%	21%	42%	16.4
	Both	7526	36%	39%	26%	35%	18.2

High School	Male	4417	27%	32%	32%	36%	18.6
	Female	4890	22%	26%	28%	46%	15.3
	Both	9307	24%	28%	30%	42%	16.9

College	Male	1998	25%	28%	31%	31%	17.6
	Female	2137	18%	23%	25%	42%	16.2
	Both	4134	21%	25%	28%	37%	17.6

University	Male	1826	11%	16%	28%	46%	15.8
	Female	1635	9%	12%	24%	54%	13.2
	Both	3461	10%	14%	27%	49%	14.6

INCOME
Lowest	Male	411	40%	42%	24%	33%	18.1
	Female	559	36%	39%	23%	38%	16.4
	Both	970	37%	41%	23%	36%	17.1

Lower Middle	Male	966	35%	40%	28%	32%	19.2
	Female	1296	31%	34%	22%	44%	16.2
	Both	2262	33%	36%	24%	39%	17.3

Middle	Male	2937	28%	33%	34%	33%	19
	Female	3256	24%	28%	24%	48%	15.8
	Both	6194	26%	30%	29%	41%	17.4

Upper Middle	Male	4117	25%	29%	32%	39%	18.4
	Female	3845	20%	24%	29%	47%	15.3
	Both	7962	23%	27%	30%	43%	17

Highest	Male	1735	16%	20%	36%	44%	18.3
	Female	1372	13%	16%	31%	53%	14.5
	Both	3107	15%	18%	34%	48%	16.7

Not Stated	Male	1933	24%	28%	29%	41%	18.8
	Female	2167	19%	23%	22%	54%	15.2
	Both	4100	21%	25%	25%	48%	17
FAMILY TYPE
Couple with children	Male	6534	23%	28%	32%	40%	18.1
	Female	6036	18%	21%	25%	54%	15.2
	Both	12569	20%	24%	28%	47%	16.9

Unattached	Male	2822	25%	28%	33%	38%	18.7
	Female	2754	21%	25%	29%	46%	15.6
	Both	5576	24%	27%	31%	42%	17.2

Couple Alone	Male	1839	36%	39%	28%	32%	19.4
	Female	2111	30%	34%	24%	42%	15.8
	Both	3950	33%	37%	26%	37%	17.8

Single Parent	Male	799	31%	36%	29%	35%	19.5
	Female	1505	34%	38%	21%	40%	15.9
	Both	2304	33%	38%	23%	39%	16.9

PROVINCE
NF	Male	238	31%	36%	34%	30%	19
	Female	240	22%	26%	27%	47%	13.2
	Both	478	26%	31%	31%	38%	16.2

PEI	Male	55	35%	40%	28%	32%	21.9
	Female	57	18%	25%	28%	47%	17.4
	Both	113	27%	32%	28%	40%	20.2

NS	Male	376	30%	35%	32%	33%	20.3
	Female	399	25%	27%	30%	43%	15.7
	Both	775	28%	31%	31%	38%	18

NB	Male	310	28%	30%	35%	36%	20.4
	Female	322	24%	26%	25%	48%	16.1
	Both	632	26%	28%	30%	42%	18.3

Atlantic	Male	979	30%	34%	33%	33%
	Female	1018	24%	26%	28%	46%
	Both	1998	27%	30%	31%	39%

QC	Male	3006	32%	36%	31%	33%	20.3
	Female	3125	26%	29%	25%	46%	17.3
	Both	6131	29%	32%	28%	40%	18.8


ON	Male	4571	23%	28%	30%	42%	18.5
	Female	4753	19%	22%	24%	53%	15.7
	Both	9323	21%	25%	27%	47%	17.1

MB	Male	443	24%	29%	32%	39%	18.8
	Female	459	20%	24%	27%	49%	15.7
	Both	902	22%	26%	29%	44%	17.2
SK	Male	395	24%	30%	33%	37%	18.9
	Female	406	25%	29%	27%	44%	15.2
	Both	801	24%	29%	30%	40%	16.9

AB	Male	1125	25%	30%	28%	42%	19.2
	Female	1119	22%	26%	23%	50%	15.6
	Both	2244	23%	28%	26%	46%	17.4

Prairies	Male	1963	25%	30%	30%	40%
	Female	1984	22%	26%	25%	49%
	Both	3947	23%	28%	27%	44%

BC	Male	1580	22%	25%	35%	40%	18.4
	Female	1616	19%	24%	34%	43%	15.1
	Both	3196	20%	24%	34%	42%	16.6

Source: Statistics Canada, Health Statistics Division, National Population Health Survey, Custom Tabulation, 1.