PATH (Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health) Study

Study Overview

A collaboration between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the study was launched in 2011 and started the first wave of data collection in 2013.

The PATH Study was one of the first tobacco projects that NIH and FDA have worked on together since Congress gave FDA authority to regulate tobacco products. The study looks at tobacco use and how it affects the health of people in the U.S.

Audio described version of Study Overview Video

Transcript of Study Overview Video

Research Objectives

The PATH Study is looking at:

Reasons why some people use tobacco and others do not.

How and why people:

Start using tobacco,
Start using different types of tobacco products,
Use two or more tobacco products, and
Switch from one tobacco product to another.

How people quit using tobacco.

Reasons why some people who quit using tobacco start using it again.

Changes in people’s attitudes toward tobacco over time.

Differences in tobacco-use related attitudes, behaviors, and health among:

Men and women,
People of different races and ethnic groups, and
People of different ages.

Impact

Information from the PATH Study is helping NIH and FDA to understand tobacco use behaviors and how use affects health over time. Findings from the study inform FDA’s regulatory decisions and actions under the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control ACT.

Study Team

Leading the Study

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are leading the PATH Study. They are working with Westat, a research company in Maryland that has expertise in survey design, questionnaire development, data collection, and analysis. Westat manages a team of partner organizations in conducting a variety of health studies.

NIH

FDA

Westat

Partner Organizations

Partner organizations involved in the PATH Study have expertise in tobacco research, including tobacco use behaviors, health conditions, and research methods. They also lead focused research studies to address the PATH Study’s objectives. The Principal Investigator of the PATH Study, Dr. Andrew Hyland, is located at one of the partner organizations, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Other scientists participating in the PATH Study are also from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, as well as from these organizations:

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dartmouth College

NYU School of Global Public Health

Rutgers

The Medical University of South Carolina

The University of California, San Diego

The University of Minnesota

The University of Waterloo

Our Field Interviewers

The PATH Study interviewers love their work. One of the best parts of their job is meeting and talking with you, our participants. Roll over the areas of the country and see what the interviewers have to say!

You can recognize our Field Interviewers by their distinctive PATH Study badge. Did you know that if you are contacted by someone who says they work on the PATH Study you can verify their identity? It is easy, just click on the “Verify My Field Interviewer” button below and we will check for you.

Verify My Field Interviewer

Imely Correa

“I enjoy seeing my PATH Study families. There's no greater pleasure than being welcomed into their homes with open arms. When I see how much our youth participants have grown both mentally and physically it brings great joy to my heart. I really look forward to seeing my PATH Study families!”

What do you most enjoy about your job on the PATH Study?

Milton A. Smalls

“I think most people participate because they know that they are contributing to something that is going to benefit and help future generations.”

Why do people participate in the PATH Study?

“I think most people participate because they know that they are contributing to something that is going to benefit and help future generations.”

Helene Stoak

“I love getting to know the participants and their families. I've been witness to their milestones. It's been thrilling to see them graduate high school and college, secure their first full time adult jobs, get married, or have children. The connection to them and their lives makes my life richer and fuller.”

What do you most enjoy about your job on the PATH Study?

See what our interviewers have to say!

ShellyAnn Banwarie

“Their opinion is important to the success of the study. Without their input the study will not be as successful since we cannot substitute another person for them. Our participants were chosen and they have a direct voice for change. That in itself is amazing, especially when only 49,000 persons are chosen to do this study out of 330 million people in America.”

Why do people participate in the PATH Study?

Steve Moss

“I believe most participants have primarily responded positively to how seriously the science is presented, and the timeliness of the research. Nearly as important, is that the PATH Study is more flexible, than other volunteer opportunities.”

Why do people participate for the first time?

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Additional information for researchers is available on the National Addiction & HIV Data Archive Program website. Among other information this includes how to access PATH Study data and details about the study design.

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