Overall
By Maternal Age
Secondhand Smoke Exposure
Unborn children are vulnerable to secondhand smoke exposure. Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to low birth-weight and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Exposure to secondhand smoke has also been linked to miscarriages and adverse impacts on cognition and behaviour in children.
Data on this page are from Ontario’s Better Outcomes Registry and Network (BORN), unless otherwise indicated. Smoking rates among the general population can be found in the section on Smoking.
Overall
Among Simcoe Muskoka residents who gave birth in 2018, 9.5% (8.7%, 10.3%) report smoking at the time of birth. Among those who smoked, the majority (62.7% (58.3%, 67.0%)) smoked less than 10 cigarettes per day and approximately one in four (27.3% (23.4%, 31.5%)) smoked 10-20 cigarettes per day.
Across Ontario, a significantly smaller percentage report smoking at the time of birth (6.3% (6.2%, 6.4%)) compared to Simcoe Muskoka. The distribution of the amount smoked per day was similar to Simcoe Muskoka.
The percentage of individuals smoking at the time of birth has significantly decreased between 2013 and 2018 in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario. In Simcoe Muskoka, the percentage decreased from 13.5% (12.5%, 14.5%) in 2013 to 9.5% (8.7%, 10.3%) in 2018. Provincially the proportion decreased from 8.1% (8.0%, 8.3%) in 2013 to 6.5% (6.4%, 6.7%) in 2018.
By Maternal Age
The percentage of individuals smoking during pregnancy decreases with increasing maternal age. In 2018, about one in five Simcoe Muskoka residents aged 15-24 years reported smoking at the time of birth (21.8% (18.6%, 25.3%)) compared with less than 10% of individuals aged 25-34 (8.2% (7.3%, 9.2%) and 35+ (6.7% (5.2%, 8.4%)).
Secondhand Smoke Exposure
The majority of Simcoe Muskoka residents who gave birth in 2018 reside in a smoke-free home (86.2% (85.2%, 87.3%)). This means that approximately one-in-seven pregnant individuals reside with a smoker at the time of birth (13.8% (12.8%, 14.8%)). A significantly higher percentage of individuals aged 15-24 years reside with a smoker when compared with those aged 25 and older.
