Health Canada - Smoking, BC 2005

A study was conducted by Health Canada to survey the general public, including non-smokers and smokers, in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia. The survey was conducted to measure knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of the population, both smokers and non-smokers, to serve as a baseline against which to measure and evaluate the impact of the smoking bans. A total of 1,468 adults, including 800 smokers, were surveyed in British Columbia on attitudes toward second-hand smoke and smoking in public places, during the same timeframe, also using a random-digit dial sampling process and trained, bilingual interviewers to administer the questionnaire. The margin of error for samples of this size is also plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, 19 times in 20 for the overall sample and plus or minus 3.5 per cent for smokers. The questionnaire was largely replicated from previous iterations with other provinces, although some items were changed based on the needs and laws in each province.