Canada Reports Overall Decline in Tobacco Use [08/01-3]

Excerpts from: Tobacco use decline continues Mandated smoke-free environments and high cigarette prices cited by anti-tobacco lobby: B.C. has fewest smokers

By Tim Naumetz Canada.com [07/31/03]

High cigarette prices and the trend toward smoke-free restaurant and work settings are behind a continued decrease in tobacco use, says Canada's major anti-tobacco lobby.

An estimated 5.4 million people, or 21% of the population aged 15 and older, were smokers last year, down from 22% the previous year, Statistics Canada reported yesterday.

The number of cigarettes smokers consume each day is also dropping, from an average of 21 in 1985 to an average of 16 last year.

British Columbia once again reported the lowest prevalence of smoking among Canadians aged 15 years and older, at 16%.

Smoking rates dropped to 21% from 25% last year in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick and were down sharply in Manitoba to 21% from 26% in 2001.

The low smoking rate in B.C., which has the highest tobacco taxes in the country, suggests high retail prices are a major factor in declining tobacco use, says Bob Walsh, executive director of the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control.

The decline in smoking was reflected in a reduction in the number of cigarettes sold.
Although there was a sharp increase in the number of cigarettes sold in June, the total amount sold for the first half of the year dropped 14% to 18.3 billion.

Production for the first six months of 2003 was also down, to 18.9 billion cigarettes.

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