Smaller percentage of Canadians than ever smoking tobacco, StatsCan reports

A new study reports a smaller percentage of Canadians than ever is smoking tobacco.

Statistics Canada says the smoking rate dropped to 17 per cent in 2010, down from 25 per cent when the Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey was first conducted in 1999.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq calls the result “encouraging.”

She says she’s particularly impressed by the drop in smoking among youth.

The survey suggests smoking rates have significantly declined among teens aged 15 to 17, where usage fell to nine per cent, the group’s lowest recorded rate.

The government implemented measures to curb tobacco marketing aimed at youth in 2010, specifically in response to an increase in small-cigar smoking.

The survey suggests the number of youth aged 15 to 19 who reported smoking little cigars in the 30 days prior to being surveyed was six per cent, down from eight per cent in 2009.

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