More city residents smoking than rest of country
07/12/04
Edmontonians are smoking less than they did five years ago, but are still lighting up more than most Canadians, Capital Health says.
A survey released Monday found 23 per cent of city residents smoke, down five per cent over the past five years. The national average is 19 per cent.
Gerry Predy, the medical officer of health, says the number is even higher in the city's northeast, with almost 30 per cent of adults lighting up.
"The reason for that, again, we're not quite sure," Predy said. "But it's probably the fact that in most parts of the region, people tend to smoke when they're younger, then quit in their 20s for various reasons.
"But in the northeast, people just aren't quitting at the same rate, so we tend to have higher numbers in the 25 to 39 age group."
Predy says Capital Health uses the survey numbers to target stop-smoking programs.
Cigarettes
