Highlights
- In a study conducted by the Indigenous Cancer Care Unit at Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario), 83% of First Nations survey participants indicated ever using commercial tobacco products (e.g., cigarettes, cigars or chewing tobacco).
- Stress was suggested by survey participants to be the greatest contributing factor to the high rates of commercial tobacco use.
- Further commercial tobacco prevention, cessation and protection efforts are warranted. Providing First Nations communities with the supports and tools to make these changes is crucial and an important step to reconciliation.
A study conducted by the Indigenous Cancer Care Unit at Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) showed a need to further support commercial tobacco prevention, cessation and protection efforts among First Nations communities in Ontario. The study was a province-wide impact assessment to determine the gaps and strengths in the cancer system for First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous peoples.
The findings from this study show high rates of commercial tobacco use among First Nations people in Ontario. Smoking tobacco increases the risk of lung cancer and chronic respiratory diseases.
- Most participants (83%) indicated ever using commercial tobacco products* (e.g., cigarettes, cigars or chewing tobacco) (see figure).
- Over half of the participants (58%) indicated daily use.
- 38% indicated smoking or using commercial tobacco products 0 to 5 times per day and 35% indicated smoking or using commercial tobacco products 6 to 10 times per day.
- 62% of First Nations participants indicated being exposed to second-hand smoke in their home, car, work or school.
Participants noted that stress was their top reason for not being able to quit. This may be an indirect result of Canada's historic policies of colonization, including residential schooling and systematic discrimination. Other barriers to quitting commercial tobacco use included cravings and others smoking around them. The most common strategy used among First Nations people who reported success with quitting commercial tobacco use was the cold turkey method (suddenly stopping). The study did not assess which quit methods were most effective.
Indigenous Cancer Care Unit staff facilitated surveys and group discussions with community members. This study recruited from various regions across the province, including urban, rural and remote First Nations communities, as well as urban Indigenous peoples. One section of the survey was dedicated to commercial tobacco use (i.e., cigarettes, cigars or chewing tobacco) in Ontario among First Nations people. Three hundred and seventeen First Nations people from 18 communities** and 5 urban centres across the province did a survey***. This is the first time a study of this scope has been conducted since 2002.
This study contributes to our understanding of factors associated with commercial tobacco use among First Nations people and preferences towards quitting. Additionally, it identifies opportunities to improve commercial tobacco education and prevention efforts to reduce the cancer burden among First Nations people. The 19th call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action is to identify and close the gaps in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.[1] Based on these findings, there is an urgent need to reduce commercial tobacco use among First Nations people in Ontario. Providing First Nations communities with the supports and tools to make these changes is crucial and an important step to reconciliation.
For more information on the Indigenous Tobacco Program, please visit tobaccowise.com.
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Although First Nations results from the impact assessment are emphasized in this Cancer Fact due to higher response rates, commercial tobacco use data was also collected for Métis people and Inuit. Of the Métis respondents, 62% indicated ever using commercial tobacco products; however, 67% indicated no longer using commercial tobacco products. Of the Inuit respondents, 82% indicated using commercial tobacco products; however, the Inuit sample size was very small.
* Ever use of commercial tobacco means current and former commercial tobacco use. The question asked to participants in the survey was, “Have you ever used commercial tobacco products (e.g., cigarettes, cigars or chewing tobacco)?”
** Out of the 133 First Nations communities in Ontario.
*** A sample of the population, which is made up of 236,680 First Nations people in Ontario, as indicated by Statistics Canada.