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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS)

Supplier
Census, DOL/BSL, NIH/NCI, FDA/CTP
Years Available
1992-1993, 1995-1996, 1998-1999, 2000, 2001-2002, 2003, 2006-2007, 2010-2011, 2014-2015, 2018-2019
Periodicity
Periodic
Mode of Collection
Sample Survey: self-responses and proxy responses.
Description
Since 1992, the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS) has served as a key source of national, state, and sub-state data on tobacco use behavior, attitudes, and policies in the United States. Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the TUS-CPS is conducted every 3 to 4 years as part of the CPS, a monthly survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor and Statistics (DOL, BLS). In each cycle, TUS-CPS collects nationally representative data from about 240,000 adults aged 18 and older. About two-thirds of respondents complete the questionnaire by telephone; responses for the remaining third are obtained through in-person interviews. The survey is regularly conducted in English and Spanish, and other languages when needed. The TUS-CPS is used to track long-term trends in tobacco use and tobacco-related policies, evaluate national and sub-national tobacco-control programs, study tobacco-related health disparities, link tobacco control data to cancer incidence and survival, and other related research.
Selected Content
The TUS-CPS addresses the following topics: current cigarette smoking status, amount smoked, and smoking history; cigar pipe and smokeless tobacco current use and history of use; quit attempts and intention to quit (including medical and dental advice to quit); nicotine dependence; cost of cigarettes and purchase location; e-cigarette use; workplace and home smoking restrictions; attitudes toward smoke-free policies in public places. Questions may be added to each wave to match the current tobacco landscape. The following additions were made for the 2018-2019 survey: purchasing loose tobacco for roll-your-own cigarettes; categorizing e-cigarette device type; purchasing behaviors and costs for buying e-cigarettes, e-cigarette cartridges, or e-liquid; policies toward e-cigarette use in the workplace and rules inside the home; and exposure to federally mandated tobacco company corrective statements (anti-smoking) advertising.
Population Covered
Civilian, non-institutionalized population ages 18 years and older (data for the 1992 to 2006 TUS-CPS are for persons ages 15 years and older).
Methodology
The TUS-CPS is administered every 3 to 4 years as part of the Current Population Survey. It uses the CPS' large, nationally representative sample to obtain information from 240,000 adults during each iteration. Each wave of the TUS-CPS is a cross-sectional survey conducted in three nonconsecutive months. Each month's data is weighted and can be analyzed as an independent survey. The 3 months' data are combined to form the overall sample of TUS-CPS for each wave. About two-thirds of respondents complete the questionnaire by telephone; responses for the remaining third are obtained through in-person interviews. The survey is regularly conducted in English and Spanish, and other languages when needed.
Response Rates and Sample Size
The 2014-2015 TUS-CPS was conducted in three waves: July 2014, January 2015, and May 2015. For all waves combined, 163,920 adults completed the interview as self-respondents for a response rate of 54.2%.
References

Objectives using data from this source (1)