The Alliance for the Control of Tobacco says new data showing that smoking rates are climbing don’t come as a surprise.

A recent Substance Use Survey from the federal government shows that smoking and vaping rates in this province increased from 14.2 per cent in 2023 to 15.9 per cent in 2025.

Melissa Moore of ACT says that’s not surprising as it reflects similar trends across the country.

“It’s a small increase, it’s not a large increase,” says Moore. “We are not surprised by this. It does happen every now and then and we see these ebbs and flows with the statistics, but really it’s just something that we need to keep in mind as we move forward with things that we are doing.”

She says contributing factors include the use of contraband tobacco and a higher number of young people vaping.