Table 3.
Weighted percentage (95% CI) of sample characteristics of smoking initiation, 2012/13 YSS
| Characteristics | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic | |||
| Grade | |||
| 7–9 | 31.00 (26.16–35.84) | 30.18 (25.43–34.93) | 30.63 (26.17–35.09) |
| 10–12 | 69.00 (64.16–73.84) | 69.82 (65.07–74.57) | 69.37 (64.91–73.83) |
| Province of residence | |||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1.48 (1.09–1.87) | 1.52 (1.06–1.98) | 1.50 (1.10–1.89) |
| Prince Edward Island | 0.58 (0.47–0.68) | 0.52 (0.40–0.65) | 0.55 (0.45–0.66) |
| Nova Scotia | 2.56 (2.00–3.13) | 2.85 (1.91–3.78) | 2.69 (2.02–3.36) |
| New Brunswick | 3.18 (2.64–3.71) | 3.65 (2.94–4.36) | 3.39 (2.83–3.95) |
| Quebec | 25.62 (20.67–30.57) | 25.85 (20.21–31.49) | 25.72 (20.65–30.79) |
| Ontario | 41.03 (34.85–47.22) | 40.58 (32.38–48.78) | 40.83 (34.05–47.61) |
| Saskatchewan | 4.35 (3.28–5.42) | 4.66 (3.13–6.20) | 4.49 (3.24–5.73) |
| Alberta | 10.44 (8.29–12.59) | 10.12 (7.07–13.17) | 10.30 (7.84–12.76) |
| British Columbia | 10.77 (5.51–16.04) | 10.25 (1.26–19.24) | 10.54 (3.65–17.42) |
| Ethnicity/race | |||
| Caucasian | 72.08 (66.18–77.97) | 75.31 (69.16–81.45) | 73.53 (67.84–79.21) |
| Visible minority | 27.92 (22.03–33.82) | 24.69 (18.55–30.84) | 26.47 (20.79–32.16) |
| Weekly spending money | |||
| $0 | 13.06 (11.19–14.92) | 13.06 (11.43–14.68) | 13.06 (11.73–14.38) |
| $1–$40 | 39.13 (36.40–41.85) | 39.64 (35.48–43.81) | 39.36 (36.49–42.22) |
| $41–$100 | 12.09 (9.39–14.80) | 12.34 (10.70–13.97) | 12.20 (10.24–14.17) |
| More than $100 | 21.34 (18.55–24.13) | 17.61 (13.75–21.47) | 19.67 (16.87–22.46) |
| Not stated | 14.28 (12.10–16.67) | 17.35 (15.32–19.34) | 15.71 (14.04–17.39) |
| Smoking-related | |||
| Cigarettes smoking status | |||
| Current daily smoker | 10.50 (8.21–12.80) | 7.97 (5.85–10.08) | 9.36 (7.50–11.23) |
| Current occasional smoker | 10.82 (8.55–13.09) | 8.47 (5.87–11.08) | 9.77 (7.83–11.71) |
| Former daily smoker | 2.45 (1.29–3.62) | 2.22 (1.49–2.94) | 2.35 (1.68–3.01) |
| Former occasional smoker | 0.63 (0.12–1.14) | 0.14 (0.01–0.28) | 0.41 (0.11–0.71) |
| Experimental smoker | 12.96 (11.42–14.51) | 16.17 (14.07–18.27) | 14.40 (13.01–15.79) |
| Past experimental smoker | 22.11 (20.39–23.82) | 22.78 (18.60–26.97) | 22.41 (20.43–24.39) |
| Puffer | 40.52 (36.00–45.05) | 42.25 (38.43–46.06) | 41.30 (38.06–44.53) |
| Alcohol-related | |||
| Frequency of having 5 drinks of alcohol or more on one occasion in the last 12 months | |||
| Never | 38.51 (33.49–43.54) | 35.03 (29.26–40.81) | 36.95 (31.95–41.96) |
| Daily | 2.15 (1.19–3.12) | 0.91 (0.19–1.62) | 1.59 (0.93–2.26) |
| 1–5 times a week | 11.02 (7.24–14.80) | 8.80 (7.19–10.40) | 10.02 (7.53–12.52) |
| Less than once a month | 19.28 (16.73–21.82) | 25.34 (21.44–29.23) | 21.99 (20.12–23.86) |
| 1–3 times a month | 29.04 (26.08–32.00) | 29.93 (26.08–33.78) | 29.44 (26.85–32.03) |
| Age of initiation (first tried smoking cigarettes, even just a few puffs) | |||
| 8 years or younger | 8.67 (7.12–10.23) | 4.73 (3.48–5.99) | 6.86 (5.66–8.06) |
| 9–14 | 60.64 (57.16–64.11) | 59.82 (54.35–65.28) | 60.26 (56.36–64.16) |
| 15–17 | 30.08 (26.74–33.42) | 34.81 (29.46–40.15) | 32.26 (28.45–36.07) |
| 18 years and older | 0.61 (0.15–1.08) | 0.64 (0.12–1.15) | 0.63 (0.31–0.94) |
| Smoked 100 or more whole cigarettes in your life | |||
| Yes | 24.41 (20.83–27.98) | 18.80 (14.90–22.70) | 21.89 (18.68–25.10) |
| No | 75.59 (72.02–79.17) | 81.20 (77.30–85.10) | 78.11 (74.90–81.32) |
| Average number of whole cigarettes smoking daily | |||
| Mean (SE) | 5.29 (3.22) | 4.17 (1.48) | 4.84 (2.20) |
| School-related | |||
| Days of school missed in the last 4 weeks because of health | |||
| 0 days | 65.44 (62.62–68.23) | 51.63 (46.67–56.59) | 59.23 (56.46–62.00) |
| 1–5 days | 30.36 (27.64–33.08) | 42.55 (38.18–46.91) | 35.84 (33.32–38.37) |
| 6 or more days | 4.20 (2.97–5.42) | 5.82 (4.35–7.29) | 4.93 (3.83–6.03) |
| School performance (grades) | |||
| Level 4 and 5 | 54.83 (48.79–60.86) | 65.07 (60.32–69.82) | 59.43 (54.68–64.17) |
| Level 3 | 32.93 (27.38–38.47) | 25.44 (22.00–28.89) | 29.56 (25.71–33.42) |
| Level 1 and 2 | 12.25 (10.38–14.11) | 9.49 (7.53–11.45) | 11.01 (9.51–12.50) |
| Psychosocial | |||
| Overall self-esteem score | |||
| ≤ 8 (median) | 28.81 (25.23–32.38) | 55.25 (52.09–58.41) | 40.67 (37.90–43.44) |
| 9–12 | 71.19 (67.62–74.77) | 44.75 (41.59–47.91) | 59.33 (56.56–62.10) |
| I feel I am part of my school | |||
| Strongly agree/agree | 71.25 (67.54–74.96) | 77.67 (74.25–81.08) | 74.75 (71.64–77.86) |
| Strongly disagree/disagree | 28.75 (25.04–32.46) | 22.33 (18.92–25.75) | 25.25 (22.14–28.36) |
| The rules about smoking in your home | |||
| Total home smoking ban | 68.73 (63.31–74.14) | 68.83 (64.89–72.78) | 68.78 (64.60–72.97) |
| No total home smoking ban | 31.27 (25.86–36.69) | 31.17 (27.22–35.11) | 31.22 (27.03–35.40) |
| At least one parent/guardian smokes | |||
| Yes | 55.57 (50.95–60.19) | 57.48 (51.45–63.52) | 56.44 (52.07–60.82) |
| No | 44.43 (39.81–49.05) | 42.58 (36.48–48.55) | 43.56 (39.18–47.93) |
| At least one sibling smokes | |||
| Yes | 29.79 (25.13–34.46) | 33.61 (30.14–37.07) | 31.53 (27.74–35.32) |
| No | 70.21 (65.54–74.87) | 66.39 (62.93–69.86) | 68.47 (64.78–72.26) |
| At least one close friend smokes | |||
| Yes | 66.16 (61.58–70.74) | 67.21 (63.30–71.12) | 66.64 (62.84–70.44) |
| No | 33.84 (29.26–38.42) | 32.79 (28.88–36.70) | 33.36 (29.56–37.16) |
| Daily physical activity at least 6 days in a week (e.g., running, bike riding, soccer, skating, etc.) | |||
| < 1 h | 70.97 (67.56–74.38) | 87.12 (84.53–89.72) | 78.22 (75.46–80.97) |
| ≥ 1 h | 29.03 (25.62–32.44) | 12.88 (10.28–15.47) | 21.78 (19.03–24.54) |
| Food choice behaviour (servings of fruits and vegetables to eat daily) | |||
| ≤ 6 | 85.56 (82.66–88.46) | 87.25 (84.92–89.59) | 86.33 (84.37–88.29) |
| > 6 | 14.44 (11.54–17.34) | 12.75 (10.41–15.08) | 13.67 (11.71–15.63) |
| Weighted observations | 326,591 | 265,801 | 592,392 |
Data source: 2012/2013 Canadian Youth Smoking Survey