- Home
- Health Topics
- Tobacco and Vaping
- General Facts about Tobacco
General Facts about Tobacco
Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in Canada. Tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke are linked to cancer, heart disease and several other diseases. At the Health Unit we are working towards the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s goal for Ontario to have the lowest smoking rate in Canada by:
- Helping people quit tobacco use
- Encouraging young people to never start using tobacco
- Protecting people from exposure to second-hand smoke
Haldimand & Norfolk Statistics:
- 21.5% of adults in Haldimand and Norfolk report they are current smokers. This is slightly higher, but similar to Ontario’s rate of 18.9%. There has been a consistent trend of Haldimand-Norfolk having higher smoking rates than the province.
- Adult smoking prevalence is higher in males (25.9%) than in females (17.1%) in Haldimand and Norfolk.
- The age group with the highest smoking prevalence was 20-44 year olds (29.4%).
- The most recent data for youth (ages 12-19) smoking rates in Haldimand and Norfolk is from 2007/2008 when 15.8% of teens reported smoking.
- 9% of youth (ages 12-19) in Haldimand and Norfolk have never smoked a whole cigarette. (2013/2014)
Source: Canadian Community Health Survey 2003-2014. Statistics Canada, Share File, Knowledge Management and Reporting Branch, Ontario MOHLTC.