Young people are more likely to smoke e-cigarettes than cigarettes, with one in three young e-cigarette users doing so to reduce stress, according to a Statistics Canada survey.

Statistics Canada said young Canadians are more likely to have never smoked, but the prevalence of e-cigarettes among young adults remains much higher than among older adults and is rising, with the potential for reintroduction of the habit.

The popularity of cigarettes has been steadily declining since the 1960s, when about half of the population had the habit, thanks to high tax rates, advertising bans and a reduction in the number of public places where smoking is allowed.

Meanwhile, in 2021, about 12% of 15- to 19-year-olds and 17% of 20- to 24-year-olds said they had used an e-cigarette device that heats a liquid that usually contains nicotine Into the steam, inhaled - the past month. That compares with just 4 percent of adults 25 or older, the statistics agency said.

Of the 10 Canadian youth aged 15 to 19, more than 6 and more than a quarter of 20 to 24 year olds had never tried cigarettes.

Overall, by 2021, 10% of Canadians report regular smoking. For all age groups, smoking rates remained stable compared to the previous year.

StatCan said young people were more likely to engage in vaping if they worked, drank or had friends who engaged in negative behavior, and being diagnosed with ADHD was a 12- to 14-year risk factor.

Older men, Canadian-born teens with lower grades or who use tobacco or marijuana are also more likely to vape, the agency said.