Key Messages
E-Cigarette Use
Types of E-Cigarettes
Perceived Risk
Key Messages
- E-cigarette use is becoming more common among high school students in Simcoe Muskoka, and is higher than the provincial rate.
- Three quarters of e-cigarette users in high school use nicotine containing e-cigarettes, and over a quarter have used e-cigarettes containing cannabis in the past year.
- About half of students do not think regular use of e-cigarettes is harmful.
E-Cigarette Use
- According to the 2019 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS), 43% (36.3%, 49.5%) of high school students in Simcoe Muskoka reported using e-cigarettes in the past year.
- This is nearly double the rate in 2015, when 23% (16.4%, 31.6%) of high school students reported past year e-cigarette use.
- This is also significantly higher than the provincial rate of 28% (25.9%, 31.0%) of Ontario high school students who report using e-cigarettes in the past year.
- 39% (32.9%, 45.6%) of e-cigarette users started within the last 12 months, among Simcoe Muskoka high school students. This rate is significantly higher than the provincial rate of 35% (22.3%, 27.2%).
- Daily e-cigarette use was reported by one in five (20% (14.3%, 26.4%)) high school students in Simcoe Muskoka who use e-cigarettes. This is twice the provincial rate of 10% (8.4%, 12.0%).
Types of E-Cigarettes
- Vaping with nicotine is becoming increasingly common. Over three-quarters (78% (68.1%, 85.4%) of Simcoe Muskoka high school students who used e-cigarettes used e-cigarettes with nicotine in the past year.
- This is nearly twice the rate in 2015, where 40% (23.1%, 60.1%) of e-cigarette using high school students in Simcoe Muskoka reporting using e-cigarettes containing nicotine.
- The proportion of e-cigarette users who vape cannabis has not changed since 2015, with 29% (18.8%, 38.7%) of high school students who use e-cigarettes reporting using e-cigarettes containing cannabis.
- Among Ontario high school students who used e-cigarettes, 77% (72.9%, 79.9%) had used nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, and 30% (26.3%, 34.4%) had used e-cigarettes containing cannabis, similar to the rates in Simcoe Muskoka.
Perceived Risk
- Around half, or 49% (44.6%, 54.1%) of high school students in Simcoe Muskoka think there is little or no risk of personal harm associated with regular use of e-cigarettes.
- This is significantly higher than the 42% (39.8%, 43.7%) of Ontario high school students who think there is little or no risk.
- Perception of risk was not significantly different than what students reported in 2015.
Further Reading
For more information on e-cigarette use and smoking in youths, see:
Page Last Modified: September 2, 2020.