Trends in vaping and smoking behavior before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: Beneficial and potentially detrimental changes

Abstract

IntroductionE-cigarette and cigarette use may have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, there is no consensus in existing literature, and current Canadian studies have not used representative samples. Thus, there is a need for robust national estimates. Objective and methodsThe primary objective was to describe the 30-day period prevalence of smoking and vaping before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. This study analyzed three years of the cross-sectional Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey: 2019 (pre-pandemic), 2020 (9 months into the pandemic) and 2021 (21 months into pandemic). ResultsThirty-day period prevalence of vaping over the 2019, 2020, and 2021 study periods were 4.8 (95%CI: 4.2–5.3), 4.6% (95%CI: 4.1–5.2), and 5.2% (95%CI: 4.7–5.7), respectively. The 30-day period prevalence of smoking over the 2019, 2020, and 2021 study periods were 11.9% (95%CI: 10.9–12.7), 10.3% (95%CI: 9.4–11.2), and 10.3% (95%CI: 9.4–11.1), respectively. Notably, estimates of smoking for females decreased considerably from 2019 (11.0%; 95%CI: 9.9––12.2%) to 2020 (8.6%; 95%CI: 7.5–9.7). Estimates of vaping in those aged 20–24 increased substantially from 2020 (13.0%; 95%CI: 10.9–15.1) to 2021 (17.2%; 95%CI: 15.4–18.9). ConclusionsChanges to smoking and vaping were restricted to subsets within the population. In those aged 20–24, there was a modest increase in vaping from 2020 to 2021. In females, there was a decrease in smoking from 2019 to 2020, which persisted in 2021.