There were 961.6 million cigarettes (containing tobacco) produced in Canada in January 2023, the third lowest monthly production number on record and following the all-time low of 765.7 million cigarettes produced in December 2022.
Since we started tracking in 2004, month-over-month production has often declined in December. The largest drop on record occurred in December 2017, when the 1.2 billion cigarettes produced was down 46% from November 2017.
There were 931.2 million cigarettes produced in August 2021, the only other month on record when production dipped below one billion. Production ticked up as high as 1.6 billion in March 2022, after which declines were observed in most months.
A monthly high of 3.8 billion cigarettes were produced in November 2004, and March 2019 was the most recent month where production reached 2 billion.
The quantity of cigarettes sold by manufacturers each month typically has not hovered much higher or lower than the same month’s production numbers. Their closing inventory stood at 2.4 billion cigarettes in December 2022.
Alongside lower production is a decrease in utilization of production capacity. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the tobacco manufacturing industry group utilized just over half (56.6%) of production capacity, the fourth straight quarterly decline and lowest rate among all industries and industry groups. The total industrial capacity utilization rate was 81.7%.
On an annual average basis, the tobacco manufacturing capacity utilization rate declined by 9.5% from 2021 to 2022, the sharpest rate decline observed among all industries and industry groups. The total industrial capacity utilization rate increased 0.9% annually in 2022.
Retail sales
Canadian retailers sold $11.8 billion worth of tobacco products and accessories (except e-cigarettes) in 2022, down from $12.1 billion in 2021 and from $12.6 billion in 2020.
Who’s smoking?
The number of smokers has been steadily decreasing since 2015. There were approximately 5.3 million smokers aged 12 years and older in 2015 compared with 3.8 million in 2021.
Vaping has significantly grown in popularity over the last decade, and some people may use vaping products to reduce or to quit smoking. A higher proportion of Canadians reported vaping on a daily basis in 2021 compared with before the pandemic (2019). In 2021, 5% of Canadians reported having vaped in the past 30 days, while 10% of Canadians reported smoking cigarettes on a daily or occasional basis.
In 2021, almost three times more Canadians aged 20 years and older (11%) reported being a current smoker than those aged 15 to 19 years (4%). Vaping was more prevalent among younger adults (15% for those aged 15 to 24 years) than older age groups (4% for those aged 25 years and older).
Health Canada continues to advise Canadians about smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer and the health risks from dangerous chemicals in tobacco products.
Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).