Map of Simcoe Muskoka

Tobacco

Youth Smoking

Key Messages
Past Year Smoking
Smoking by Grade
Perceived Risks of Smoking

Key Messages

  • Tobacco use by youth has decreased over the past 20 years.
  • Students in grades 11 & 12 are significantly more likely to have smoked in the past year than students in lower grades.
  • Only one-third of high school students in Simcoe Muskoka perceive regular smoking as a great risk.

Past Year Smoking

  • According to the 2019 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS), 7% (4.8%, 9.2%) of students in grades 7-12 in Simcoe Muskoka smoked a tobacco cigarette in the past year.
  • This is similar to the provincial rate of 5% (4.5%, 5.7%) of students across Ontario who reported smoking a cigarette in the past year.
  • Smoking among Ontario students has been steadily decreasing since 1999. Smoking rates in 2019 were significantly lower than in any previous year.
  • Daily smoking was very uncommon among students, with only 1.5% (0.8%, 2.8%) of Simcoe Muskoka students and 1.6% (1.3%, 1.9%) of Ontario students reporting smoking at least one cigarette daily in the past 12 months.
  • There was no difference in smoking rates between male and female students.

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Smoking by Grade

  • Smoking rates were higher in Grade 11 & 12 students, with 14% (9.6%, 19.8%) of Simcoe Muskoka students in Grades 11 & 12 reporting smoking in the past year, compared to only 4% (1.9%, 7.1%) of students in Grades 9 & 10.
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    Perceived Risks of Smoking

    • Only 31% (26.2%, 35.3%) of high school students in Simcoe Muskoka believe that regularly smoking tobacco cigarettes posts a great risk.
    • Simcoe Muskoka students were less unsure about the risk, with only 6% (3.8%, 8.8%) of Simcoe Muskoka high school students compared to 13% (11.6%, 14.4%) of Ontario high school students responding that they were “Not Sure” of the risk.

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    Further Reading

    For more information on smoking in youths, see:

    Page Last Modified: September 16, 2020.