Tobacco harm reduction (THR) has delivered dramatic public health wins in multiple countries, proving that regulated nicotine alternatives can slash smoking rates without demanding cold-turkey abstinence. Sweden became the world’s first “smoke-free” nation (under 5% smoking prevalence) largely through widespread use of nicotine pouches. The UK endorses vaping as a scientifically backed cessation tool, even distributing free vape kits via the National Health Service to help smokers switch completely. New Zealand drove an equitable vaping revolution with its Vaping Facts website and pragmatic communication, while Japan halved cigarette sales in under a decade by permitting heat-not-burn products, which deliver nicotine without combustion.

Now, Canada is emerging as the latest success story, showing how a regulated legal vaping market accelerates record-low smoking rates while protecting youth.

From 29% to 13%: Smoking Is Collapsing

Canada combines tough anti-smoking measures with legal vaping access as a harm reduction tool, yielding concrete results. Health Canada’s latest reports show that this strategy is paying off in concrete numbers, while still keeping a cautious eye on youth and non‑smokers.

In 2001, nearly 3 in 10 Canadians smoked. By 2024, that figure had fallen to about 13%, and Canada now projects smoking to hit roughly 5.1% by 2035 under its national Tobacco Strategy. The endgame goal is explicit: get below 5% smoking prevalence, effectively relegating cigarettes.

This progress goes beyond bans, taxes and warnings: it is a story about giving smokers a way out that does not demand nicotine abstinence.

Vaping as an Exit Ramp

Health Canada now openly recognises that legal vaping products have contributed to record-low smoking rates, describing them as a less harmful, though not risk‑free, alternative for adult smokers. Notably, about 21% of Canadians who quit smoking in 2024 report using e‑cigarettes to help their transition away from cigarettes.

Two key points emerge from the evidence Health Canada highlights:

• Daily or frequent vaping is associated with higher quit success.
• The benefits are greatest when vaping replaces, rather than simply supplements, cigarettes, which is why “dual use” remains a concern.

In plain language: vaping seems to work best as an off‑ramp from smoking, not as a gateway to smoking.

Youth Vaping Is Falling

Critics often argue that allowing vaping inevitably sacrifices a generation of young people. Canada’s recent data tell a more nuanced story. After a 2019 peak, youth vaping is now dropping sharply: 2025 figures show nearly a 50% decline in 30‑day use among 12–17‑year‑olds since then.

Most importantly, this decline is happening in a context where vaping products are regulated but easily available. In other words, Canada shows that it is possible to preserve vaping as an option for adult smokers and still drive youth use down with targeted regulation, rather than blanket bans that push products into the black market.

Harm Reduction, Not a Free Pass

Health Canada’s position is not “pro‑vaping”; it is pro‑harm reduction. For adult smokers who cannot or will not quit nicotine, switching completely to vaping is encouraged as a way to reduce harm compared with continued smoking. ​For non‑smokers and youth, the advice is clear: do not vape.

Vaping products are acknowledged to have lower toxicity than combustible cigarettes, but authorities are explicit that long‑term risks are still being studied and that vaping is not “safe” in an absolute sense. The aim is risk reduction, not risk elimination.

For policymakers watching from abroad, Canada’s experience offers practical lessons. First, make the problem visible by setting a clear target which keeps the focus squarely on combustion as the real enemy, not nicotine in every form. Second, regulate less harmful alternatives, since a legal, quality-controlled vaping market can accelerate smoking declines while protecting the youth. And third, communicate nuanced risks.

Canada’s latest data reinforces that pragmatic regulation, not moralising bans, delivers the fastest path to a smoke-free future. Other nations should follow its model.