Production and Disposition of Tobacco Products

Detailed information for October 2024

The monthly survey, Production and Disposition of Tobacco products, measures quantities of tobacco products that are produced and sold by Canadian manufacturers.

Data release - November 29, 2024

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

This survey measures on a monthly basis, the quantities of tobacco products that are produced and sold by Canadian manufacturers.

The quantities of tobacco products produced and sold are used as an indicator of the economic condition of the tobacco products manufacturing industry; as an input into Canada's Gross Domestic Product and as an input into macro- and micro-economic studies to determine market shares and industry trends. Data are used by the business community, federal and provincial departments and international organizations.

Reference period: Month

Collection period: During the month following the reference month.

Subjects

• Food, beverage and tobacco
• Manufacturing

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population is comprised of all establishments in Canada engaged in manufacturing cigarettes and other tobacco products classified to NAICS 312220 under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS 2017). The observed population is made of the establishments in the target population that have the highest revenues (those establishments account for more than 99% of the total revenue generated by the industry).

Instrument design

The questionnaire for this survey has remained stable over the years, although the format and wording has been modified to maintain its relevance based on feedback from survey respondents and data users.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

The sampling unit is the establishment as defined on the Statistics Canada Business Register.

Sample was determined by selecting the most important establishments allowing to cover 99% of the industry total revenue. The sample size for reference period January 2023 is 5 establishments.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

Data are collected each month from survey respondents using an electronic questionnaire. Businesses from whom no response has been received or whose data may contain errors are followed-up by telephone or fax.

Under normal circumstance, data are collected, captured, edited, tabulated and published within 4 weeks after the reference month.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

In order to detect errors and internal inconsistencies, automated edits are applied to captured data to verify that totals equal the sum of components and that the data are consistent with the previous month's data. Data that fail the edits are subject to manual inspection and possible corrective action.

In addition, subject matter experts analyze the data at a more aggregate level to detect and verify any large month-to-month or year-over-year changes for the industry.

Imputation

When non-response occurs, when respondents do not completely answer the questionnaire, or when reported data are considered incorrect during the error detection steps, imputation is used to fill in the missing information and modify the incorrect information. Many methods of imputation may be used to complete a questionnaire, including manual changes made by an analyst. The automated, statistical techniques used to impute the missing data include: replacement using historical data (with a trend calculated, when appropriate), replacement using auxiliary information available from other sources and replacement based on known data relationships for the sample unit. Usually, key variables are imputed first and are used as anchors in subsequent steps to impute other, related variables.

Estimation

All units in the observed population are being surveyed. Estimation of totals is done by simple aggregation of the values of all estimation units that are found in the domain of estimation. Estimates are computed for one domain of interest which is Canada, based on the most recent classification information available for the estimation unit and the survey reference period. It should be noted that this classification information may differ from the original sampling classification since records may have changed in size, industry or location. Changes in classification are reflected immediately in the estimates.

Quality evaluation

Survey results are analyzed to ensure comparability with patterns observed in the historical data series and the economic condition of the industry. Information available from other sources such as the media and other government organizations are also used in the validation process.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Direct disclosure may occur when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of a few responses or when the cell is dominated by a few companies. Residual disclosure may occur when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Data may be revised to include amended information or reports from respondents that are received after the end of a collection cycle. Revisions are disseminated in subsequent periods and reflected in the CODR (Common Output Data Repository).

Data accuracy

The methodology of this survey has been designed to promote data accuracy. Since data are collected from all Canadian producers of Tobacco products, as defined in the observed population, the resulting estimates are not subject to sampling error. However, the results are still subject to the non-sampling errors associated with coverage, non-response, inaccurate reporting, and processing. Errors relating to coverage and non-response can be measured. All attempts are made to control inaccurate reporting and processing errors.

The collection response rate for the 12 month period during 2023 for this survey is set at 100%.

NON-SAMPLING ERROR
There is a degree of under coverage (referred to as coverage error) in the survey results as there is generally a lag between the time a new business comes into existence and when it is included in the universe of this sub-annual survey. This is due to the fact that the list of companies surveyed is derived from the latest available survey results of the ASML which are not available until 15 months after the reference period.

This error is kept at a minimum by also using advance information from the ASML, feedback from the Monthly Survey of Manufactures (MSM) and from other sources such as trade journals and newspaper articles, to identify new survey units.

Non-response errors
Some respondents may be unable to provide data for numerous reasons (i.e., fire, theft, strike, economic hardship, etc.), while others may be late in responding. To minimize non-response, delinquent respondents are followed up rigorously by phone or fax. Data for non-responding units are imputed using industry trend and other related information. Data are revised at a later date, if completed questionnaires are received after the end of a collection cycle.

Non-response error is calculated using the number of non-responses in the year, divided by the number of total expected responses in the year.

Inaccurate response
Inaccuracy may result from poor questionnaire design or an inability on the part of respondents to provide the requested information or from misinterpretation of the survey questions. To reduce such errors the format and wording in the questionnaire are reviewed from time to time and modified based on feedback from survey respondents and data users. Respondents are also reminded of the importance of their contribution and of the accuracy of reported information.

Processing errors
These errors may occur at various stages in the processing of survey data such as data entry, verification, editing and tabulation. Data are examined for such errors using automated edits along with an analytical review by subject matter experts. Several checks are performed on the collected data to verify internal consistency and comparability over time.

Coverage error
Coverage errors consist of omissions, erroneous inclusions, duplications and misclassification of units in the survey frame.

Statistics Canada's Business Register (BR) provides the frame for the Production and disposition of tobacco products survey. The BR is a data service centre updated through a number of sources including administrative data files, feedback received from conducting Statistics Canada business surveys, and profiling activities including direct contact with companies to obtain information about their operations and Internet research findings. Using the BR will ensure quality, while avoiding overlap between surveys and minimizing response burden to the greatest extent possible.

Other non-sampling errors
These errors may occur at various stages of processing such as coding, data entry, verification, editing, weighting, and tabulation, etc. Non-sampling errors are difficult to measure. More important, non-sampling errors require control at the level at which their presence does not impair the use and interpretation of the results. Measures have been undertaken to minimize the non-sampling errors. For example, units have been defined in a most precise manner and the most up-to-date listings have been used. Questionnaires have been carefully designed to minimize different interpretations. As well, detailed acceptance testing has been carried out for the different stages of editing and processing and every possible effort has been made to reduce the non-response rate as well as the response burden.