Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) 2007..

September 4, 2008 - The Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) was developed to provide Health Canada and its partners with timely, reliable, and continual data on tobacco use and related issues. The survey's primary objective is to track changes in smoking status and amount smoked, especially for populations most at risk for taking up smoking, such as 15-24-year-olds.

The annual results from the CTUMS, for data collected between February and December 2007, show that 19% of the Canadian population aged 15 years and older were current smokers (about 5.2 million smokers), unchanged from the same period one year ago. The current smoking rate among youth aged 15-19 years was 15% for the second year in a row (about 331,000 teens). Unchanged from the same period last year. The prevalence of smoking among young adults aged 20-24 years was 25% (about 575,000 young adults) in 2007, compared to 27% as reported last year at this time2. Males (28%) continue to have a higher prevalence of smoking compared to females (23%).

The CTUMS results for 2007 showed that the rate of smoking ranged from a low of 14% in British Columbia to a high of 24% in Saskatchewan. All provinces remained within ±5% of the National average smoking rate (19%). Along with the lowest smoking rate, British Columbia reported the highest percentage of never smokers (57%) while Quebec reported the lowest (46%). Also, Albertans should pay up to light up.. Fourteen percent (14%) of Canadian households reported at least one person who smoked inside the home every day or almost every day. Overall, 35% of respondents reported being exposed to second-hand smoke at least once a week, while 12% reported it occurring every day, and 12% reported exposure almost everyday.

Among Canadian youth ages 15-19, 32% reported having ever tried little cigars and 11% reported smoking a little cigar in the past 30 days. Forty-six percent of young adults ages 20-24 reported having ever tried little cigars and 10% reported smoking a little cigar in the past 30 days.

Reference: Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) 2007 - Summary of Annual Results for 2007, Health Canada.