Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control
Cancer
Smoking Behaviour of Canadians
Cycle 2, 1996/97 (January 1999, No. 1)
Who is Starting to Smoke and Why?
The longitudinal design of the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) allows for
changes in the smoking behaviour of individuals to be followed over time. This Highlights report focuses
on changes in the smoking status of individuals from when they were first surveyed in 1994/95 (Cycle 1) to when
they were surveyed again in 1996/97 (Cycle 2). All ages reported in this summary refer to the age of the individuals
when they were surveyed in 1996/97, and the analyses are restricted to those 15 and older in 1996/97.
Who is Starting to Smoke for the First Time?
An estimated 329,000 Canadians who were aged 15 and older in 1996/97 began smoking
for the first time in the two-year period between 1994/95 and 1996/97 (this represents 4% of never smokers in 1994/95).
About one-half of those who started for the first time during this relatively short two-year period became daily
smokers (Figure 1.7-1).
Seventy percent of those who started for the first time were under the age of
25. There was little difference between the sexes in the percentage who had started to smoke for the first time.
Why are they Starting?
When asked why they started to smoke, 37% of those who had started in the past
two years said it was either because "everyone around me smokes" or because family or friends smoked. No other
reasons were mentioned with enough frequency to reliably report results. The number of new smokers in the sample
was also too small to explore, separately, the reasons given by males and females for starting.
Who Became a Daily Smoker?
Five percent of those surveyed in 1994/95 were occasional smokers, representing
just over 1.1 million Canadians. By 1996/97, 34% of these occasional smokers, or approximately 387,000, had switched
to smoking every day. The same proportion of male and female occasional smokers increased their smoking habit.
There was an apparent trend toward more shifts to daily smoking among younger occasional smokers, but the numbers
were too small for reliable reporting.
Why are Occasional Smokers Becoming Daily Smokers?
Those who had increased from occasional to daily smoking were asked why they
had increased their smoking habit. Stress was the main reason given for smoking more (34% cited this as the reason).
The small number of respondents in the sample who increased their smoking from occasional to daily precluded further
analysis.
Who is Starting Again and Why?
Nearly one-third of all respondents in 1994/95 (30%) identified themselves as
former smokers, representing almost 7 million Canadians. By 1996/97, 9% of these former smokers, or approximately
618,000 Canadians, had resumed smoking (i.e., relapsed, see Figure 1.7-1).
Older former smokers were much less likely to have relapsed (i.e., resumed smoking
between 1994/95 and 1996/97) than younger former smokers. Only 5% of former smokers over the age of 34 resumed
smoking between 1994/95 and 1996/97, compared with 34% of former smokers under 25. Younger former daily smokers
were more likely to relapse than younger former occasional smokers (43% vs. 32% respectively for those under 25).
This pattern was not observed among older former smokers, which is probably because older former daily smokers
had quit for longer periods of time, although time since quitting was not ascertained.
Among younger and older age groups, there were no obvious sex differences in
the percentage of former daily smokers and former occasional smokers who resumed smoking. Stress and the smoking
behaviour of others (e.g., friends) were the main reasons given for starting up again.
What is Happening Nationally Regarding Smoking Prevalence?
Between 1994/95 and 1996/97, more than 329,000 Canadians aged 15 and over (in
1996/97) became current smokers for the first time and an additional 618,000 former smokers began smoking again
(i.e., relapsed). These new and relapsed smokers (947,000 in total) replaced the 968,000 Canadians who quit smoking
between 1994/95 and 1996/97.
|
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?"
|
|
