This survey will ask both smokers and non-smokers about past and present smoking habits and attitudes towards smoking. Questions will also be asked about the use of alcohol and prescription and non-prescription drugs. Results will be used by Health Canada to monitor changes regarding the usage of tobacco, alcohol and drug use, and to plan programs accordingly. Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.
Collection period:
Collection methods:
Survey participation:
Your participation in this survey is voluntary. However, since every respondent in this survey represents many other people in your province and in Canada, it is important that each respondent participate in order to ensure that the collected information is as precise and accurate as possible.
Confidentiality
Your answers to this voluntary survey will be kept strictly confidential.
Data sharing agreements and record linkage
To enrich the data from this survey, Statistics Canada may combine your responses with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.
Topics covered in the survey
The survey asks a variety of questions about:
- tobacco use
- exposure to second-hand smoke
- e-cigarette use
- alcohol use
- prescription and non-prescription drug use
- labour market activities
Published data
Statistics Canada publishes the results of its surveys in many formats, the following list includes the latest articles and related documents for the Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey:
- latest news releases published in The Daily
- publications
- analysts and researchers
Survey-specific questions
- What is the Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey?
- Why does the survey focus more on youth?
- How was I selected for this survey?
- Who uses the survey information? Why is it important?
- When will the survey results be available?
- Where can I find more information about the survey?
What is the Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey?
The Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CTADS) collects information from persons 15 years of age and over and is conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of Health Canada to provide biennial national and provincial estimates of tobacco, alcohol and drug use.
The first half of the survey collects information about smoking behaviour, attitudes towards smoking, and other related issues. The survey also collects general information about smoking in the household. An important goal of the survey is to understand the attitudes and smoking behaviours of the population aged 15 to 24 years old.
Since this information has been collected since 1999 it is possible to look at the changes that have taken place in tobacco use and attitudes towards smoking in the Canadian population, and the circumstances that lead to these changes.
The second half of the survey focuses on alcohol use, prescription and non-prescription drug use and related behaviours and outcomes.
Why does the survey focus more on youth?
People aged 15 to 24 years old are most at risk for beginning to smoke. Nearly all first-time tobacco use occurs before high school graduation. We need to better understand what makes them smoke, and what can help them to quit.
How was I selected for this survey?
It would be very expensive, and not very practical, to survey every household in Canada. Instead, Statistics Canada uses a statistical method called sampling. It is an established way to determine characteristics of an entire population with the answers from a randomly chosen sample.
To select people for the survey, telephone numbers are randomly selected from a list of phone numbers we have at Statistics Canada. All households with a telephone in the 10 provinces that are on that list have a chance of being selected. From these households, we collect information from about 5,350 individuals aged 15 to 19 and 5,350 individuals aged 20 to 24 and 5,350 individuals aged 25 or over.
Who uses the survey information? Why is it important?
Information from this survey is useful to all Canadians. It helps everyone understand the changes that are taking place in tobacco, alcohol and drug use in Canada and how these changes affect their personal, work and leisure-time lives.
Health Canada, other federal departments, provincial governments, and various health organizations will use the survey data to develop prevention policies and treatments programs and to monitor the results of their programs.
Community organizations, educators and researchers interested in tobacco, alcohol and drug-related attitudes and behaviours will use results from this survey to raise public awareness and to help them in their on-going work.
When will the survey results be available?
The results from the 2017 survey should be released in The Daily in November 2018.
Consult Published data section for more data and analysis.
Where can I find more information about the survey?
For more information about the Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, contact us.
Information about the survey is also available on Health Canada's website: