Mortality attributable to tobacco use in Canada and its regions, 1994 and 1996

Using data from the National Population Health Survey and the Canadian Mortality Database, we applied the Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity and Economic Cost method to estimate national and regional smoking-attributable mortality for 1994 and 1996. The results indicate that 29,229 men and 15,986 women died in 1996 as a result of smoking, including 105 children under the age of 1. This total of approximately 45,200 deaths represents an increase of 3,807 deaths since 1991, of which 2,445 occurred in women. The increase in female mortality is almost entirely due to adult diseases, divided between cancers (1,026), cardiovascular diseases (743) and respiratory diseases (870).