Smoking rates higher in northeastern Ontario, according to new Public Health Ontario data – CBC

The Timiskaming Health Unit district has the highest smoking rates in the province, at 22 per cent

Feb 05, 2024

The Timiskaming Health Unit district in northeastern Ontario has the highest smoking rates in the province.

According to Public Health Ontario’s latest numbers, which cover 2019 and 2020, 22 per cent of people in the Timiskaming region smoke. Ontario’s smoking rates are 10.1 per cent.

Other parts of northeastern Ontario also have higher smoking rates than the province as a whole.

The North Bay Parry Sound Health Unit district has smoking rates of 13.5 per cent, in the Algoma district they’re 16.2 per cent, and in the Porcupine Health Unit district the rates are 20.9 per cent.

Laurel Beardmore, a health promoter with the Timiskaming Health Unit, said the region’s more rural, and older population are key contributors to the higher smoking rates.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/smoking-rates-northeastern-ontario-1.7103654