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Attitudes toward smoking
1Institutions and Social Statistics Branch, Statistics Canada, Ottawa. rossnan@statcan.ca
Objectives:
This article examines socio-demographic variations in attitudes about the health effects of smoking, second-hand smoke, and the importance of smoke-free environments.
Data Source:
The data are from the Health file of the 1996/97 cross-sectional provincial household component of the National Population Health Survey, conducted by Statistics Canada. The sample consists of 60,260 respondents aged 12 or older.
Analytical Techniques:
Three smoking attitudes scores were derived. Multivariate analyses were used to study how age, sex, educational attainment, province and smoking status were associated with attitude scores.
Main Results:
Smokers placed less emphasis than non-smokers on the health risks associated with smoking. Older Canadians, particularly smokers aged 65 and older, tended to have more lenient attitudes toward smoking, compared with younger age groups. Respondents with high school education or less held more lenient attitudes, compared with those with a university degree. Quebec residents were more tolerant of tobacco use than were residents of other provinces.