FAQs for Participation

The PATH Study is a new national study on tobacco and health. It will provide a knowledge base to understand tobacco use behaviors and health, including potential changes related to policies that affect tobacco products to protect the public health of Americans.

The study will include people ages 12 years and older who may or may not use tobacco. Interviewers will contact about 59,000 people at their homes to ask about:

• Topics that include -
  • Age, gender, and education.
  • Health, including tobacco use, use of medicines, and health conditions.
• Participants who are 18 years of age and older will be asked for samples of urine, cells from inside their cheeks, and blood.
  • People can choose whether or not to provide these samples.
  • People can also choose to provide some samples but not others.
  • A trained professional will collect the samples, using safe practices.
  • We may use samples for biological research, such as genetic research.
  • We will not ask people under the age of 18 for samples.
• The study will combine information from many people and be used for research purposes only. People’s information will be kept private from anyone not connected with the research, in keeping with the study’s Certificate of Confidentiality.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), in partnership with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is sponsoring the PATH Study. Westat , an independent research firm, will conduct the study. Other research institutions and universities are also helping.

We can’t interview everyone. It would take too long and cost too much. So we’ve selected households by chance from a list of addresses.

Your household represents many others in the United States. Whether to participate is up to you. However, the interviews and samples we collect will be much more complete and useful if your household and many others say yes.

We’d like to talk to an adult in your household and ask a few questions about the people who live there. This information will help us select people to participate in the study.

If someone in your household is selected, we’ll ask him or her to take part in an interview and to give samples. Then, the person can decide whether to be part of the study. If you’re selected, we hope you’ll say yes.

If the person who’s selected is younger than 18 years old, we’ll interview that person only if the parent or guardian gives permission and the young person agrees to participate. We will not ask youth to give samples.

You should be part of this study because it will help to improve the health of millions of Americans.

The PATH Study is the largest study of its kind on tobacco use and health. Whether you use tobacco or not, if you participate in the study, you’ll be an important part of what is learned about tobacco products and how they affect health.

The study results will help, for example, in reducing tobacco use among youth and assisting tobacco users who want to quit in your community and the Nation.

Everything you provide will be kept private.

• Your interview answers and samples will not be associated with your name.
• We will identify your interview answers and samples by a number only.
• Your name and contact information will be kept separately in secure computer files.

Yes. If selected for the study, adult household members will be offered up to $70 as a thank you for fully participating in both of two home visits.

Based on the answers to a short interview, you or other members of your household may be selected to participate further. As a thank you for completing the first home visit, the study will offer each participating adult $35 for completing a longer interview and another $10 for their time to provide cells from inside the mouth (cheek cells). In addition, each participating adult will be offered $25 as a thank you for completing the second home visit, where a health professional will collect a blood sample and a urine sample. Selected adults can choose to participate in the interview and not to give samples; or they can choose to give some samples and not others.

Each selected youth will be offered $25 for completing an interview.

Once a year for at least 3 years, the study will contact the same people and ask them to complete interviews. It will also ask adults to give samples of urine and cheek cells. The study will ask for blood samples this year and 2 years from now.

Each year the interview will take a little over 60 minutes for adults and about 30 minutes for youth. If adults give samples, that will take about 5 minutes for the urine samples and cheek cells, and about 10 minutes for the blood samples.

Each year adults and youth can decide whether they want to take part in the study.

The PATH Study interviewer can answer your questions.

For more information explore the PATH Study website by clicking on the tabs at the top of the page. If you have any questions, send an email to the PATH Study staff.