Tobacco & Nicotine

As a world leader in tobacco use and women’s health, our Senior Investigator Dr. Lorraine Greaves has led our team on policy-oriented research in this area since 1996. This research has focused on preventing and reducing the effects of tobacco on women and girls, and sex/gender differences in tobacco use, smoking cessation, vaping, and second-hand smoke exposure. This work has been supported by partnerships and funding from Health Canada, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative, the International Network of Women Against Tobacco, the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in Health, and Cancer Research UK.

Info Sheets and Guides:

• Women, Nicotine and Tobacco Info Sheet (2024) – This info sheet summarizes the research on nicotine, tobacco and women’s health, including during pregnancy and postpartum.
• Two resources for women and service providers who work with women who vape during pregnancy or postpartum (2023):
  • Vaping During Pregnancy & Postpartum
  • Why women vape during pregnancy & postpartum: Conversation starters for your practice
• Sex, Gender & Vaping Info Sheet (2020) – This info sheet examines evidence on sex and gender related factors affecting patterns of use, exposure and health effects of cannabis vaping and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
• Couples and Smoking: What you need to know when you are pregnant (2008) – This booklet for pregnant women who want to reduce or stop smoking, offers prompts to think through how routines, habits, and ways of interacting with your partner influence smoking.

Toolkits:

• Women and Tobacco: A Casebook (2013) – This casebook provides an introduction to key topics in the area of women and tobacco and offers strategies for how health and service providers can support women, advocacy, and action.
• Liberation! Helping Women Quit Smoking: A Brief Tobacco-Intervention Guide (2012) – This resource offers support to service providers in diverse contexts to start a conversation with women about their smoking and the possibility of quitting.

Reports:

• Expecting to Quit: A Best-Practices Review of Smoking Cessation Interventions for Pregnant and Postpartum Girls and Women (2011) – This report builds on a 2003 edition to examine interventions designed to reduce or eliminate smoking during pregnancy, contextualize the findings in the wider literature on women’s health, and offer practice, research, and policy recommendations.
  • Expecting to Quit (ETQ): Digital Narratives – women’s experiences of smoking
  • Liz’s Story
  • Cristabel’s Story
  • Noa’s Story
• Hearing the Perspectives of Aboriginal Girls on Smoking (2009) – In partnership with six Indigenous communities in British Columbia and the University of British Columbia, this report features findings on how age, gender, culture, and context intersect to shape Indigenous girls’ experiences of smoking.

Training:

• Expecting to Quit Course (2011) – This course was developed based on the Expecting to Quit report and offers 5 ideas for service providers working with pregnant women who smoke.

Journal Articles:

• Women’s Experiences with Nicotine and Cannabis Vaping During Pregnancy and Postpartum (2025)
• Vaping guidance and women’s decision-making during pregnancy & postpartum (2025)
• Women, Tobacco and Intimate Partner Violence in the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020)
• Tailored Intervention for Smoking Reduction and Cessation for Young and Socially Disadvantaged Women During Pregnancy (2019)
• From fetal health to women’s health: expanding the gaze on intervening on smoking during pregnancy (2016)

Multimedia:

• Are women at a greater health risk when it comes to smoking? Expert weighs in (2024) – Our Senior Investigator, Dr. Lorraine Greaves, offers expertise on women and smoking in this editorial.
• Tobacco Use, Vaping, and Women’s Health Presentation (2023) – This presentation for Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s INTREPID Lab TEACH Educational Rounds covers historical patterns of women’s tobacco use, sex and gender factors of tobacco use and vaping, meanings of smoking to women, perinatal health, and sex, gender, and equity informed responses.
• Women and Tobacco Use video presentation (2022) – This video is part of the Taking Texas Tobacco Free series and offers an overview of patterns of women’s use of tobacco and nicotine, sex and gender factors and tobacco, meanings of smoking to women, reproductive health issues, gender specific intervention approaches, and additional resources.

Collaborations and Partnerships:

• Key Facts About Women and Tobacco Fact Sheet (English, Spanish, 2024) – This fact sheet was created in collaboration with the International Network of Women Against Tobacco, a global network established in 1990 to raise awareness and create action to reduce the impact of tobacco on women and girls. The fact sheet outlines information on women and prevalence, health effects, cessation, and more.
• E-Cigarette Use: Evidence-Informed Guidance on Harms and Benefits (2024) – Our senior investigator Dr. Lorraine Greaves served as a panel member on the advisory committee for the development of these guidelines for the “Vaping and electronic cigarette toxicity overview and recommendations project” (Project VECTOR).

Learn more:

• Visit the Publications page to find related journal articles and other publications of interest.