Canadian Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CADS): 2019 definitions

Prevalence
the proportion of a group or population reporting the indicated behaviour or outcome, usually expressed as a percentage.
Statistically Significant
the observed relationship between two or more variables is unlikely due to chance alone.
Weighted Results
weighting is the statistical technique used to allow the study sample to be representative of the target population; in other words, any participant's response is weighted so that it represents a specific number of identical responses in the target population.
95% confidence interval
provides a range of values in which the estimated prevalence will fall 95% of the time (i.e., if the survey was repeated 20 times, the results would fall within this range 19 of those times, or 19 times out of 20).
Smoking prevalence
the number of smokers in a specified group, divided by the total population of that group, expressed as a percentage.
Current smoker
includes daily smokers and non-daily smokers (also known as occasional smokers), determined from the response to the question "At the present time do you smoke cigarettes every day, occasionally, or not at all?"
Daily smoker
refers to those who respond "everyday" to the question "At the present time do you smoke cigarettes every day, occasionally or not all?"
Occasional smoker
sometimes referred to as "non daily" smoker, refers to those who respond "occasionally" to the question "At the present time do you smoke cigarettes every day, occasionally or not all?"
Former smoker
was not smoking at the time of the interview, however, answered "YES" to the question "Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your life?"
Never smoker
was not smoking at the time of the interview and answered "NO" to the question "Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your life?"
E-Cigarettes
are battery-operated devices that mimic the act and taste of smoking cigarettes but do not contain tobacco. E-cigarettes include vaporizers with e-juice, vape pen, tank, or mod and are available with or without nicotine.
Past-year use
reported use in the 12 months preceding the interview.
Acute effects
possible short-term effects of alcohol use include injuries and overdoses.
Age of initiation
the age at which a person first used alcohol or a drug.
Problematic use
drugs used for reasons other than for prescribed therapeutic purposes including use for the experience, for the feeling they caused, to get high, to feel better (improve mood) or to cope with stress or problems.
Harm
drug related harms include harms in any of the following 8 areas: physical health; friendships and social life; financial position; home life or marriage; work, studies or employment opportunities; legal problems; difficulty learning; and housing problems.
Chronic effects
possible long-term effects of alcohol use include liver disease and certain cancers.
Low-risk drinking guideline 1 (chronic)
people who drink within this guideline must drink "no more than 10 drinks a week for women, with no more than 2 drinks a day most days and 15 drinks a week for men, with no more than 3 drinks a day most days. Plan non-drinking days every week to avoid developing a habit."Footnote 1
Low-risk drinking guideline 2 (acute)
those who drink within this guideline do so by "drinking no more than 3 drinks (for women) or 4 drinks (for men) on any single occasion. Plan to drink in a safe environment. Stay within the weekly limits outlined" in the guidelinesFootnote 2.
Naloxone
a medication used to counter the effects of an opioid overdose, such as from consuming heroin or fentanyl. Naloxone can be administered, usually as an injection in an arm or leg, during an opioid overdose to counteract life-threatening depression of the central nervous system and respiratory system, allowing an overdose victim to breathe normally.
Overdose
when an individual consumes more of a substance than their body can handle, and experiences symptoms such as slowed or stopped breathing, decreased or increased heart rate, changes in blood pressure, heart attack, or seizures.
WHO ASSIST screening tool
is a tool that was developed for the World Health Organization (WHO) by an international group of substance abuse researchers to detect and manage substance use and related problems in primary and general medical care settingsFootnote 3.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Canada's Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines [brochure], 2018. Accessed August 28, 2018. https://ccsa.ca/canadas-low-risk-alcohol-drinking-guidelines-brochure

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Footnote 2

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Canada's Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines [brochure], 2018. Accessed August 28, 2018. https://ccsa.ca/canadas-low-risk-alcohol-drinking-guidelines-brochure

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Footnote 3

World Health Organization ASSIST Screening Tool. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/978924159938-2

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