The decision to print warning labels on individual cigarettes is endorsed by more than seven-in-ten Canadians.

Vancouver, BC [October 9, 2026] – As the United Kingdom prepares to implement its Generational Smoking Ban in 2027, Canadians maintain a favourable opinion on the legislation and would like to implement it in Canada, a new Research Co. poll has found.

The Government of the United Kingdom has ratified legislation related to the sale of cigarettes. Under the new law, the legal age to purchase cigarettes in the United Kingdom—currently set at 18 years—will increase by one year every year. In essence, people born in or after 2009 will never be allowed to purchase cigarettes.

In the online survey of a representative national sample, two thirds of Canadians (66%, +1 since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in April 2024) hold a positive opinion of the UK’s legislation, while 21% (=) have negative views.

When asked if Canada should consider a law similar to the one ratified in the United Kingdom (that is, increase the legal age to purchase cigarettes every year so that people born in or after 2009 are never allowed to purchase cigarettes), just over three-in-five Canadians (61%, -2) believe this should be the case, while one-in-four (25%, =) are opposed and 14% (-1) are undecided.

“Support for a Generational Smoking Ban in Canada is highest among Canadians aged 18-to-34 (65%),” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Majorities of Canadians aged 35-to-54 (59%) and aged 55 and over (58%) also endorse the legislation.”

On a regional basis, more than seven-in-ten British Columbians (73%) think Canada should emulate the legislation that will be implemented in the United Kingdom. Support is lower, but still in majority territory, in Quebec (63%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (60%), Ontario (59%), Alberta (54%) and Atlantic Canada (also 54%).

Only 50% of Conservative Party voters in the 2025 federal election are in favour of a Generational Smoking Ban in Canada. The proportions are higher among Canadians who supported the New Democratic Party (NDP) (65%) or the Liberal Party (70%) last year.

Just over half of Canadians who smoked tobacco in any form over the past year (52%) are also in favour of Canada enacting legislation similar to the British one, along with more than three-in-five non-smokers (63%).

In 2024, Canada became the first country to mandate printed warning labels on individual cigarettes sold in the country. More than seven-in-ten Canadians (71%, +3) believe the federal government made the correct decision with this mandate, while 17% (-3) disagree and 12% (+1) are undecided.

Over the course of the past year, fewer than one-in-five Canadians smoked marijuana (18%, -1), consumed marijuana in a non-smoking form (edibles) (17%, +2), used an electronic cigarette or e-cigarette (vaping) (16%, =) or consumed tobacco in a non-smoking form (chewable tobacco) (7%, +3).

As was the case in 2024, just over one-in-five Canadians (21%, =) smoked tobacco in any form (cigarette, cigar, pipe) in the last 12 months.

This year, the lowest proportion of tobacco smokers is observed in British Columbia (19%, +1), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (also 19%, +3) and Alberta (also 19%, -10). The proportions are slightly higher in Atlantic Canada (21%, +4), Quebec (22%, -4) and Ontario (also 22%, +4).

Canadians aged 18-to-34 are more likely to have smoked tobacco in the past year (25%, +5) than their counterparts aged 35-to-54 (22%, =) and aged 55 and over (16%, -5).

The incidence of vaping remains markedly higher among Canadians aged 18-to-34 (27%, =) than among those aged 35-to-54 (19%, +3) and those aged 55 and over (5%, =).

Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from September 21 to September 23, 2026, among 1,003 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

Find our data tables here and download the press release here. 

For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca