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Health Reports, February 2017

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Released: 2017-02-15

Smoking prevalence among Inuit in Canada

The percentage of Inuit aged 15 or older who were daily smokers declined significantly from 64% in 1991 to 52% in 2012, but remained well above the rate for the total population. The percentage of all Canadians aged 15 or older who were daily smokers decreased from 22% in 2001 to 16% in 2012.

Almost three-quarters of Inuit live in remote northern communities in the four regions collectively known as Inuit Nunangat: Nunatsiavut (Labrador); Nunavik (northern Quebec); Nunavut; and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Northwest Territories).

According to a new study on smoking trends among Inuit, daily smoking was more prevalent among Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat than among Inuit living elsewhere. In 2012, the daily smoking rate was higher in Nunavik and Nunavut than in the other two Inuit regions.

Daily smoking decreased significantly among Inuit of all age groups except those aged 45 to 54. Inuit aged 55 to 64 and aged 65 or older recorded the largest declines in daily smoking. In 2012, the prevalence of daily smoking among those aged 65 or older was 12%, compared with 42% in 1991. For those aged 55 to 64, the daily smoking rate fell from 51% in 1991 to 34% in 2012.

The average number of cigarettes smoked a day by Inuit daily smokers fell from 14.9 in 1991 to 12.3 in 2012. The average number decreased among Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat, but did not change significantly among Inuit living outside of Inuit Nunangat.

The 2017 Aboriginal Peoples Survey will help inform whether the broad trends in smoking prevalence identified in the current study have continued.

The evolution of smoking in Canada

As 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of Confederation, we take a look at some historical facts about the prevalence of smoking in Canada.

From 1965 to 2013, smoking prevalence declined from 49.5% to 14.6% in the population aged 15 and older. Smoking prevalence among both men and women decreased over the 48-year period. In 1965, the prevalence of smoking among men was 23 percentage points higher than for women. By 2013, that gap had narrowed to less than 3 percentage points.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Smoking prevalence¹ in Canada, adults aged 15 and older, 1965 to 2013
Smoking prevalence¹ in Canada, adults aged 15 and older, 1965 to 2013

  Note to readers

Data in this release are from the 1991, 2001 and 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS), which covered First Nations People, Métis and Inuit. The 1991 sample was from the census population who reported Aboriginal origins and who also identified as Aboriginal in the APS. The 2001 and 2012 samples were from the census population (or National Household Survey population in 2011) who reported Aboriginal identity or ancestry, and who also identified as Aboriginal in the APS. The overall prevalence of smoking among Inuit is compared with published data for the total population based on results from the 2001 and 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey.

The sample for the present study consisted of APS respondents who identified as Inuit, who were aged 15 or older and who provided smoking data.

The smoking status question was the same in all survey years: "At the present time do you smoke cigarettes daily, occasionally, or not at all?" Daily smokers were asked: "How many cigarettes do you smoke each day now?" In 2001 and 2012, daily smokers were also asked: "At what age did you begin to smoke cigarettes daily?"

Products

The article "Smoking prevalence among Inuit in Canada" is now available in the February 2017 online issue of Health Reports, Vol. 28, no. 2 (Catalogue number82-003-X, free).

This issue of Health Reports also contains the article, "Prolonged sedentary time and physical fitness among Canadian men and women aged 60 to 69."

Contact information

For more information on the article "Smoking prevalence among Inuit in Canada," contact Evelyne Bougie (evelyne.bougie@canada.ca), Health Analysis Division, Statistics Canada.

For more information on the article "Prolonged sedentary time and physical fitness among Canadian men and women aged 60 to 69," contact Shilpa Dogra (shilpa.dogra@uoit.ca), Ontario Institute of Technology.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).

For information about Health Reports, contact Janice Felman (613-799-7746; janice.felman@canada.ca), Health Analysis Division, Statistics Canada.

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