Smoking

Electronic Cigarette Use Among Secondary School Students in Québec: 2012-2013

Electronic cigarettes are new devices with which users mimic the gestures and produce the feeling of smoking without exposing themselves to the toxic by-products of tobacco combustion. While many experts consider them to be a less harmful alternative for smokers' health than conventional cigarettes, others are concerned that they could renormalize smoking and provide a gateway to conventional cigarettes for young people.

This study is one of the first to assess electronic cigarette use among secondary school students in Québec.

The findings indicate that most students have heard of electronic cigarettes. In 2012-2013, 34% of secondary school students had ‘ever used' electronic cigarettes and approximately 6% had used them in the past 30 days. These estimates are high compared with those in the United States and suggest that youth in Québec have access to this product. Almost one third of secondary school students who had never tried electronic cigarettes did not…

Prevalence of Cigarette and Cigar or Cigarillo Use Among Students in Québec: 2010-2011

The publication of the second issue in the “Youth Smoking Survey” (YSS) series in 2010 showed the trends in cigarette and cigar or cigarillo use among students in Québec in 2006-2007 (Lasnier and Cantinotti, 2010). The purpose of this document is to update the smoking profile of Secondary 1 to 5 students using data collected in 2008-2009 and 2010-2011. Indicators are presented for the proportion of students who smoked cigarettes in the 30 days preceding the survey, the proportion of smokers by smoking status, as well as the proportion of students who used alternative tobacco products (cigars, cigarillos and little cigars) in the last 30 days.

  • In 2010-2011, the prevalence of cigarette use among Secondary 1 to 5 students was higher in Québec (12%) than in the rest of Canada (9%).
  • Unlike the situation in 2006-2007, cigarette use was more prevalent than cigar or cigarillo use among secondary school students in Québec as a whole in 2010-2011.

Smoking Cessation and Québec Students: 2006-2007 to 2010-2011

Over the years, specific efforts have been made to reach young people so that, on the one hand, they do not become tobacco-dependent, and on the other hand, they stop smoking. Several interventions have been developed specifically for them, as for example the youth coalition against smoking, the De Facto campaign, and the iQuitnow Website for adolescents. The few data available suggest that smoking cessation services such as the quit smoking centres, and the iQuitnow telephone helpline and Web site attract few adolescents (Montreuil, 2012; Tremblay and Roy, 2013), which is not at all surprising, since young people say that their favoured means for quitting smoking is to do it alone or with a friend (Dubé et al., 2009; Kischuck et al., 2004). According to the most recent data of the Québec Survey on Smoking, Alcohol, Drugs and Gambling in High School Students collected in 2008, close to six young smokers in ten reported having tried to quit smoking duri…

Position statement - Smoking, a public health scourge for dedicated health professionals

This statement was adopted by the Collège des médecins du Québec, the Ordre des dentistes du Québec, the Ordre des hygiénistes dentaires du Québec, the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec, the Ordre des optométristes du Québec, the Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec, the Ordre professionnel des inhalothérapeutes du Québec, and the Institut national de santé publique du Québec.

The effects of smoking on health are undeniable. For many years, tobacco use has been one of Québec’s most serious health concerns. Tobacco use causes many illnesses in smokers and non smokers and produces a heavy burden on the health care system and considerable social costs. Tobacco use is the leading risk factor for the most deadly chronic illnesses, namely cardiovascular disease and cancer. More than 10,000 Quebecers die every year from tobacco use.

Subjected to the strong addiction induced by tobacco products, smokers often want to quit smoking, and most of them have tried quitting…

Cree Health Survey 2003, Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.1, Iiyiyiu Aschi : Cigarette consumption

The survey was conducted during the summer of 2003 using a representative sample of residents aged 12 and older from the nine communities in Iiyiyiu Aschii: Chisasibi, Eastmain, Mistissini, Nemaska, Oujé- Bougoumou, Waskaganish, Waswanipi, Wemindji, and Whapmagoostui.

  • A proportion of current smokers (46%) higher than that for the rest of Quebec (27%).
  • Daily smokers who smoke, on average, fewer cigarettes per day than the rest of Quebec (9.9 cigarettes vs. 16.4).
  • An increase, between 1991 and 2003, in the proportion of the population aged 15 and over who have never smoked (9% vs. 14%).
  • High proportions of current smokers among young people: 60% among the 12-19 age group and 73% among the 20-29 age group.
  • Young people aged 12-19 who, when buying cigarettes, are less often asked their age (32%) than young people in the rest of Quebec (68%).
  • The same pattern with respect to the smoking cessation process, quitting smoking a…

Nunavik Inuit Health Survey 2004 : Tobacco Use

Tobacco smoke contains many toxic substances. It affects the health of smokers and of non-smokers exposed to it and increases the risks of certain types of cancers and respiratory diseases. Tobacco products are highly addictive and can cause the premature death of smokers.

The 1992 Inuit health survey revealed an important proportion of smokers. Tobacco use was measured again in the 2004 survey. In the latter survey, all participants aged 15 years and over were questioned about smoking.

The results from the Nunavik Inuit Health Survey 2004 show that more than three quarters of the participants surveyed smoked daily or occasionally, compared to one quarter of residents of the southern populations of Quebec and Canada. The proportions of smokers reported in the 2004 survey are basically the same as those derived from the 1992 Inuit survey. When analyzed by age group, the results reveal that those aged 18 to 29 smoke the most – nearly 90% of them are smokers – whereas p…

Smoking cessation counselling - Results of a 2005 Survey of Quebec dentists

More than 13,000 men and women in Quebec (about 36 per day) die each year from tobacco-related diseases. Although the prevalence of tobacco use has declined in the past decade, there are still 1.6 million smokers in the province who inhale more than 4,000 chemical products each day, at least 50 of which are carcinogenic.

Since 2003, the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec (MSSS) has supported the implementation of the Plan québécois d'abandon du tabagisme. The objective of this province-wide program is to encourage smokers to quit, and to provide support for them in their efforts to quit. A range of free services have been implemented in Quebec progressively over the past four years, including a telephone helpline, a Web site on tobacco use cessation, and counselling services at smoking cessation centres located throughout the province.

In 2004, the MSSS mandated the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) to develop, in partnership…

Smoking cessation counselling - Results of a 2005 Survey of Quebec physicians

More than 13,000 men and women in Quebec (about 36 per day) die each year from tobacco-related diseases. Although the prevalence of tobacco use has declined in the past decade, there are still 1.6 million smokers in the province who inhale more than 4,000 chemical products each day, at least 50 of which are carcinogenic.

Since 2003, the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec (MSSS) has supported the implementation of the Plan québécois d'abandon du tabagisme. The objective of this province-wide program is to encourage smokers to quit, and to provide support for them in their efforts to quit. A range of free services have been implemented in Quebec progressively over the past four years, including a telephone helpline, a Web site on tobacco use cessation, and counselling services at smoking cessation centres located throughout the province.

In 2004, the MSSS mandated the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) to develop, in partnership…

Smoking cessation counselling - Results of a 2005 Survey of Quebec dental hygienists

More than 13,000 men and women in Quebec (about 36 per day) die each year from tobacco-related diseases. Although the prevalence of tobacco use has declined in the past decade, there are still 1.6 million smokers in the province who inhale more than 4,000 chemical products each day, at least 50 of which are carcinogenic.

Since 2003, the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec (MSSS) has supported the implementation of the Plan québécois d'abandon du tabagisme. The objective of this province-wide program is to encourage smokers to quit, and to provide support for them in their efforts to quit. A range of free services have been implemented in Quebec progressively over the past four years, including a telephone helpline, a Web site on tobacco use cessation, and counselling services at smoking cessation centres located throughout the province.

In 2004, the MSSS mandated the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) to develop, in partnership…

Smoking cessation counselling - Results of a 2005 Survey of Quebec pharmacists

More than 13,000 men and women in Quebec (about 36 per day) die each year from tobacco-related diseases. Although the prevalence of tobacco use has declined in the past decade, there are still 1.6 million smokers in the province who inhale more than 4,000 chemical products each day, at least 50 of which are carcinogenic.

Since 2003, the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec (MSSS) has supported the implementation of the Plan québécois d'abandon du tabagisme. The objective of this province-wide program is to encourage smokers to quit, and to provide support for them in their efforts to quit. A range of free services have been implemented in Quebec progressively over the past four years, including a telephone helpline, a Web site on tobacco use cessation, and counselling services at smoking cessation centres located throughout the province.

In 2004, the MSSS mandated the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) to develop, in partnership…