Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control
Cancer
Smoking Behaviour of Canadians
Cycle 2, 1996/97 (January 1999, No. 1)
Profile of Young Adults Aged 20-24
Young Adult Smoking Prevalence
In 1996/97, an estimated 663,000 young adults aged 20 to 24 were current smokers
(35%), and more young adult males smoked (39%) than young adult females (32%). The overall smoking prevalence among
young adults in 1996/97 was the same as that reported in Cycle 1 of the National Population Health Survey (NPHS),
completed in 1994/95 (35%). Unlike 1996/97, however, the prevalence of smoking in 1994/95 was higher among young
adult females (37%) than young adult males (33%).
More young adults smoked on a daily basis than occasionally (Figure 1.4-1). Of
the young adults who were smoking at the time of the survey, 80% smoked cigarettes daily. Overall, more males than
females smoked every day (32% vs. 25% respectively). An estimated 8% of the young adults in this age group were
former daily smokers, and another 12% had smoked occasionally in the past.
Among the four regions of Canada (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, and Western provinces),
the prevalence of smoking among 20-24 year olds was highest in Quebec, at 45%, which exceeded the national rate
by 10 percentage points. Of the other regions, Ontario and the Western Region had the lowest percentage of smokers
in this age group (32%), and approximately 37% of those in the Atlantic Region were smokers. Small sample sizes
in some provinces precluded any further detail.
Amount Smoked
Young male adults aged 20 to 24 who were daily smokers in 1996/97 smoked an average
of 16 cigarettes per day, which was similar to the average amount reported by this age group in 1994/95 (17 cigarettes/day).
Female daily smokers of the same age group smoked an average of 14 cigarettes per day in 1996/97, which was similar
to the average in 1994/95 (13 cigarettes/day).
Starting and Quitting
The design of the NPHS allows for the tracking of individual smoking behaviour
over time. The following discussion refers to those young adults who were between the ages of 20 and 24 in the
1996/97 survey and describes how their behaviour changed since they were first surveyed in 1994/95. Because
of the small number of young adults surveyed in both Cycle 1 and Cycle 2, only a general overview of starting and
quitting behaviour was possible for this age group and results should be interpreted with caution.
An estimated 55,000 young adults started smoking cigarettes for the first time
between 1994/95 and 1996/97, representing more than 6% of never smokers in 1994/95. Interestingly, another 133,000
young adults who were never smokers in 1994/95 reported being former smokers in 1996/97, suggesting some first
time experimentation with cigarettes during this time period.
More than 83,000 young adults who were former smokers in 1994/95 had resumed
smoking by 1996/97 (24% of former smokers). In other words, nearly one-quarter of the young adults who had quit
smoking in the past relapsed by the 1996/97 survey.
Among those who were smoking daily in 1994/95, 83% were still smoking every day
when surveyed in 1996/97. About one-half of young male (56%) and young female (54%) daily smokers stated that they
were considering quitting within the next six months. Those daily smokers who smoked more than 25 cigarettes/day
were less likely to say that they were considering quitting (40%), compared with those who reported smoking 25
or fewer cigarettes daily (57%).
Of the 675,000 young adult smokers in 1994/95, more than 136,000 (20%) had quit
by 1996/97. However, these young adults who quit smoking were replaced by 138,000 young adults who started (55,000)
or resumed smoking (83,000) by 1996/97.
Estimation of Addiction
The amount of time that elapses from when daily smokers wake up to when they
have their first cigarette is one measure of how addicted they are to smoking. An estimated 49% of young adults
(aged 20-24) who smoked daily reported smoking their first cigarette within 30 minutes of waking (21% within the
first 5 minutes of waking and 28% within 6-30 minutes of waking). This compares with 44% of 15-19 year olds and
62% of daily smokers aged 25 and over who smoked their first cigarette within 30 minutes of waking.
Among young adults, a higher percentage of "less addicted" smokers reported they
were considering quitting in the next six months. Sixty percent of young daily smokers who had their first cigarette
30 or more minutes after waking said they were considering quitting, compared with 50% of those who had their first
cigarette less than 30 minutes after waking.
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Terminology
- Current smoker - was smoking at the time of the interview, and includes
daily smokers and non-daily smokers (also known as occasional smokers). Smoking status was determined
from the response to the question: "At the present time do you smoke cigarettes daily, occasionally or not at all?"
- Former smoker - was not smoking at the time of the interview, however
answered "YES" to the question: "Have you ever smoked cigarettes at all?" Former daily smokers and former
occasional smokers were then determined by their response to the question: "Have you ever smoked cigarettes
daily?". In Cycle 2, time since quitting was not collected.
- Never smoker - was not smoking at the time of the interview and answered
"NO" to the question: "Have you ever smoked cigarettes at all?"
- Non-smokers - are former smokers and never smokers, combined.
- Prevalence of smoking - the proportion of cigarette smokers in the specified
population.
- Amount smoked - the number of cigarettes smoked per day for daily smokers
only.
- Quitters - those individuals who classified themselves as either "daily"
or "occasional" smokers in 1994/95, and then as "former smokers" in 1996/97.
- Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) - also known as second-hand smoke.
Exposure to ETS was determined from the response to the question: "Does anyone in this household smoke regularly
inside the house?"
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