The Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS), conducted every year since 1999 by Statistics Canada on behalf of Health Canada, provides current, reliable and continuous data on tobacco use and related issues.
The objective of this national survey is to track changes in smoking rates and amounts smoked, especially for 15- to 24-year-olds, who are most at risk for taking up smoking.
The 2006 CTUMS collected data from nearly 22,000 Canadians (including over 2,090 Albertans) from February to December of 2006. Here are some of the results for Alberta:
- The smoking rate in Alberta is declining, from 26% in 1999 to 21% in 2006.
- About 23% of men in Alberta are current smokers, compared with 19% of women who smoke on a daily or occasional basis.
- The smoking rate in Alberta (21%) is slightly higher than the smoking rate for Canada (19%).
- The smoking rate in Alberta remains highest among young adults (aged 20 to 24) at 30%. This is also slightly higher than the national rate (27%).
The Youth Smoking Survey (YSS) is conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of Health Canada. This national survey provides information about tobacco use and experimentation among youth in grades 5 to 9 (roughly 10 to 14 years old)--the age group most likely to first try smoking.
The 2004/2005 YSS, an update to previous surveys in 2002 and 1994, collected data from over 29,200 students across Canada. Here are some of the findings:
- In 2004/2005, 18% of Alberta students in grades 5 to 9 had ever smoked. This rate is down from 19% in 2002, and is about half of what it was in 1994 (39%).
- The rate of Alberta students who had ever smoked (18%) is slightly lower than the national average (19%).
- Smoking rates rise steadily from grades 5 to 9. About one in 10 Canadian students in Grade 6 have ever tried smoking, compared with one in four in Grade 8, and one in three in Grade 9.
- 82% of Alberta students in grades 5 to 9 have never tried a cigarette--not even a few puffs.
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