Cigarette use among Canadian undergraduates.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of daily cigarette use among Canadian undergraduates. Estimates are also compared to earlier Ontario surveys. METHODS: Data are drawn from the Canadian Campus Survey, a national mail survey, conducted in the fall of 1998, with a random sample of 7,800 students from 16 universities. RESULTS: Overall, 17.1% reported daily cigarette smoking and 10.4% reported occasional smoking. Rates of daily smoking differed significantly by region (with rates above average among those attending university in the Atlantic and below average among those attending university in British Columbia and the Prairies), residence (those residing off campus without family reported the highest prevalence rate), and year of study (those in the final year typically reported lower rate of use). INTERPRETATION: University campuses represent an environment with potential gains to be made by tobacco control policies.