Nunavut out-smokes rest of Canada

Though Nunavummiut still smoke more tobacco than other Canadians, recent statistics show Nunavummiut are also cutting down.

In 2001, there were 10,900 smokers in Nunavut, but only 7,900 in 2005. And nearly all Nunavut smokers now report that they control smoking at home and at work.

These are among the findings of the Canadian Community Health Survey, which released new information last week about smoking, weight, mental health and access to medical care.

The survey finds Nunavut has the highest smoking rates in Canada, at 53 per cent, or one in two Nunavummiut.

The smoking rate in Nunavut is more than twice the overall Canadian rate: only about one in five Canadians over 12 now smoke.

But the survey did not specifically touch on the smoking rate in Nunavik, where about 75 per cent of Nunavik adults and 80 per cent of adolescents use tobacco regularly.

But the survey shows widespread smoking bans in public places appear to have “considerably reduced” the risk of exposure to second-hand smoke.

Since the survey was conducted, Ontario and Quebec have banned smoking in public places. As smoking bans in public places become more widespread, exposure to second-hand smoke declines.

Smoking bans were also more frequently reported in workplaces in the North, where Nunavut had a rate of 92 per cent.

The survey found the number of cigarettes smoked dropped from 14 to 11 per day for people who have a ban on smoking at work.

And the survey says more Canadians live in homes where smoking is completely restricted – including Nunavut.

In 2005, close to two-thirds of people aged 12 or older lived in households where smokers were asked not to light up.

In Nunavut, more than two out of three households, or 67.9 per cent, control smoking in the home.

The survey also points to some troubling health tendencies in Nunavut: Nunavut’s obesity rate is 25.9 per cent. This means about one in four Nunavut adults are obese, or very overweight.

The survey was based on results obtained from 700 residents in Nunavut’s largest communities, says Statistics Canada.

One in five adults surveyed also reported being stressed.

At the same time, Nunavut has the lowest access to family doctors in Canada, with only two in 10 having a family doctor. In other regions of the country, the lack of a family doctor means people with diabetes or high blood sugar receive less rigorous follow-up for these conditions.