For the purposes of this report, members of the teen population are defined as anyone 12 to 19 years of age. The results in this report are based on province-wide quantitative data from random telephone survey and qualitative data obtained from focus groups. The telephone survey involved two questionnaire versions – base (prevalence of tobacco use, demographics of tobacco use, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke) and advanced (base plus reasons for using or not using tobacco, quitting behaviour, attitudes toward tobacco and tobacco control). The survey data involved 1448 telephone interviews with the base questionnaire for a margin of error ±2.6% 19 times out of 20 and 185 interviews with the advanced questionnaire for a margin of error of ±7.2% 19 times out of 20. The survey results were weighted to known age and gender proportions for the entire province by Regional Health Boards or Community Health Services Societies (as per Statistics Canada). Comparisons between the teen population and all B.C. residents (aged 12+) are made throughout this report. The reader is reminded that teens are also included in the provincial sample; the samples are not mutually exclusive.

A total of four focus groups were conducted with teens aged 12 to 19 years who were current daily smokers, non-daily smokers, beginners and recent quitters. Focus group participants were recruited in two different ways: 1) respondents who had participated in the province-wide prevalence telephone survey and agreed to future research, and 2) teens recruited randomly over the phone and in person. In order to facilitate a freer discussion the groups were structured by age and gender in the following manner: females 12 to 15; males 12 to 15; females 16 to 19; and, males 16 to 19. The four focus groups were conducted on July 28 and 29, 1997 at the Angus Reid Group’s focus group facilities.

This report begins by providing a snapshot of teens in British Columbia in terms of cigarette smoking, the socio-demographics of cigarette smoking, and an attitudinal segmentation of the British Columbia population in relation to tobacco and where teens fit into this segmentation. The snapshot of teens is followed by a discussion of first-time smoking experiences, the purchase of cigarettes, the positives and negatives of smoking, images of smokers and non-smokers, attitudes towards health concerns, quitting behaviours and attitudes, smoking prevention, exposure to secondhand smoke, alternate tobacco use and attitudes towards tobacco companies.