The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study is a nationally representative, longitudinal study of tobacco use and health in the United States. A collaboration between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco products (CTP) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the study is conducted under a contract with Westat.
The PATH Study was launched in 2011 to inform the FDA's regulatory activities under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA). It was the first large research effort undertaken by the NIH and FDA since Congress gave FDA authority to regulate tobacco products in 2009. For the baseline wave (Wave 1), the study sampled over 150,000 mailing addresses across the U.S. to create a national sample of tobacco users and non-users. About 49,000 people ages 12 years and older are participating in the PATH Study. Interviewers visit each person once a year, or every other year, to administer questionnaires and collect blood and urine specimens. The biological specimens are analyzed for markers of tobacco exposure and of potential harm. Data and documentation (questionnaires, codebooks) related to the PATH Study are available at the PATH Study website at the National Addiction & HIV Data Archive Program (NAHDAP). Data is stored on secure servers maintained by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR.)
PATH Study Questionnaire Data
- Files available to researchers include data from the Adult Questionnaires and Youth (and Parent) Questionnaires, State Identifier data, Master Linkage files, and weight variables. These data are available as Public Use Files (PUF) and/or as Restricted Use Files (RUF). PATH Public-Use Files: This page provides an at-a-glance summary of each wave of data collection, downloadable datasets and codebooks, questionnaires, and citations of publications using PATH Study data. The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Researchers who wish to use the PUF can download data files directly from the PUF website.
PATH Study Biomarker Restricted Data
- Both biomarker data files and biological specimens are available to researchers as restricted use files only, as BRUFs. PATH Biomarker Restricted-Use Files: This page provides guidelines for applying for biomarker restricted data, an at-a-glance summary of each wave of data collection, downloadable datasets and codebooks, questionnaires, and citations of publications using PATH Study data. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement and apply for access to these data through the ICPSR Virtual Data Enclave (VDE) portal. NAHDAP must approve any applications for the BRUF.
PATH Study Biospecimen Access Program
- The PATH Study Biospecimen Access Program provides the research community with access to urine, serum, plasma and DNA collected from PATH Study participants. Investigators proposing meritorious and feasible studies consistent with PATH Study objectives and/or research priorities for tobacco regulatory science will be given highest priority for access to these biospecimens. Proposals addressing other objectives that advance the knowledge of tobacco use and/or tobacco-related health outcomes will also be considered. Investigators wishing access to these biospecimens must follow the procedures under "How to Apply for Biospecimens ."