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What Is the TUS-CPS?

The Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS) is an NCI-sponsored survey of tobacco use that has been administered as part of the US Census Bureau's Current Population Survey in 1992-1993, 1995-1996, 1998-1999, 2000, 2001-2002, 2003, 2006-2007, and 2010-2011. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was a co-sponsor with NCI from 2001-02 through 2006-07.

The TUS-CPS is a key source of national, state, and sub-state level data from US households regarding smoking, use of tobacco products, and tobacco-related norms, attitudes, and policies. It uses a large, nationally representative sample that contains information on about 240,000 individuals within a given survey period. Other characteristics of the survey are:

  • civilian, non-institutionalized population ages 18 years and older (data for the 1992-2006 TUS-CPS are for persons 15 years and older);
  • state sample sizes range from 2,100 for the District of Columbia to 18,700 for California;
  • about 64% of respondents complete the TUS-CPS by telephone and 36% complete it in person; and
  • mostly self-reports (about 20% are by proxy for a few measures of use).

These data can be used by researchers to:

  • monitor progress in the control of tobacco use;
  • conduct tobacco-related research; and
  • evaluate tobacco control programs.

Information from past Tobacco Use Supplements is contained in NCI's Tobacco Monographs. See Reports and Publications Using the TUS-CPS for a list of publications describing past TUS-CPS findings or utilizing some of the TUS-CPS data in conjunction with other health survey, registry, or other outcome data.

The TUS-CPS has regularly been translated into Spanish and the 2003 version was also translated into Chinese, Khmer, Korean, and Vietnamese. Information about the translated questionnaires, including reports on the review and pretesting of the translations, and copies of the questionnaires in all available languages, is now available.

Download the TUS-CPS Fact Sheet.


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Last modified:
19 Nov 2012
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