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There is a lot of encouraging news in the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s (CAMH) latest survey of Ontario students. 

OPINION: Youth smoking is at historic lows. Let’s make sure nicotine policy keeps moving in the right direction Back to video

The 2025 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) shows that youth drug use continues a decades-long decline. Tobacco smoking and several other forms of substance use are at or near historic lows. Just 3.5% of students in Grades 7 through 12 reported smoking a cigarette in the past year, while nearly half reported abstaining entirely from alcohol, tobacco or nicotine, and cannabis.  

Those are important public-health achievements and they should be recognized. 

The same survey also gives us our first Ontario-wide look at nicotine pouch use among students. It found that 5.8% reported using a nicotine pouch at least once during the previous year, rising to 11.7% among Grade 12 students. 

Without a doubt, young people should not be using any nicotine products. But before we draw........

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