OTTAWA (CP) At a time when governments across Canada have introduced laws to curb smoking in public, a new survey from Statistics Canada suggests that 7.9 per cent of the population who live in the Yukon health region were regularly exposed to second-hand smoke in public places last year.

However, smoking in general has risen slightly in the Yukon health region since the last survey was taken.

The latest survey suggested 30.4 per cent of the population of the Yukon health region were smokers last year, compared with 27.5 per cent in 2003.

The national rate was 21.7 per cent.

About 28.1 per cent of women in Yukon health region last year were current smokers, compared with 32.6 per cent of men.

The information on smoke data and other key health indicators was released today by Statistics Canada as part of its Canadian Community Health Survey a massive study of the health of Canadians which the federal government conducts every two years.

The survey found that those in the Yukon health region aged 12 and over who were exposed to second-hand smoke in 2005 decreased from 2003, the last time the survey was conducted.

The previous survey showed that 23.5 per cent of the local population had second-hand smoke exposure in public places.

Since the survey was taken, the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Alberta have brought in new laws to further protect non-smokers from breathing in other people's cigarette smoke in public places and in the workplace.

Whitehorse, British Columbia, the other Prairie provinces and all of Atlantic Canada already have full or partial bans on indoor smoking.

The Statistics Canada survey suggests that the laws have helped reduce exposure to second-hand smoke, but that there's still more that could be done to ensure public places are free from the known health hazard.

Across Canada, the national rate of exposure to smoke in public places was 14.7 per cent in 2005, down from the 2003 survey when the rate was 19.6 per cent.

When asked about exposure to second-hand smoke in the workplace, 30.5 per cent of the respondents across Canada said smoking was not restricted at all where they worked or restricted only in certain places.

In the Yukon health region, 78.5 per cent said they worked in a place where smoking was completely restricted. In 2003, the total was 67.2 per cent.

The survey also asked people about smoking habits in their homes. In the Yukon, 8.2 per cent of the non-smoking respondents indicated that either a household member or visitor smoked regularly in their homes.

However, 61.6 per cent reported they had restrictions on smoking at home, about the same as the 2003 rate of 61.9 per cent.

The Canadian Community Health Survey asked about 133,000 Canadians a variety of questions ranging from their drinking and smoking habits to their access to health care services and those results are extrapolated to give governments a snapshot of health care issues at the national, provincial and sub-provincial level.

The survey was first held in 2001 and the latest results are based on answers given in 2005.

Other information about the health of those in the Yukon region, as gleaned by the 2005 survey:

• 17.8 per cent of the adults living in the health region are considered obese.

A further 30.3 per cent of the population was considered to be over their acceptable weight.

In 2003, the obesity rate for the health region was 20.6 per cent. Nationally, 15.5 per cent of Canadians were considered obese, compared with an obesity rate of 14.9 per cent in 2003.

The survey bases its findings on the Body Mass Index, an internationally accepted standard that uses a person's weight and height to gauge total body fat.

These figures are based on what Statistics Canada calls self-reported data, rather than actual measurements of a respondent's height and weight. Other surveys have suggested that if actual measurements are used, obesity rates would be higher.

• The survey measured the BMI of youths aged 12-17. It found that 18.8 per cent of youths in the health region were considered obese or overweight, compared with a national rate of 17.9 per cent.

• 27.9 per cent of the population are considered heavy drinkers, compared with the national average of 21.8 per cent.

• 56.6 per cent of the population in the region described their health as excellent or very good.

The national average is 60.1 per cent. Analysts consider self-rated health as a valid indicator of a person's overall physical and emotional well-being.

• 57.6 per cent of the health region's population was considered physically active.

For example, people are considered physically active if they walk for an hour, bicycle for 45 minutes or jog for 20 minutes each day. To be considered moderately active, people have to swim or do home exercise for 30 minutes each day.