Tobacco Data Collection

Working Toward a Tobacco-Free Louisiana

Understanding Tobacco Data in Louisiana

Through the Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey (LYTS) and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), we can begin to see how tobacco use impacts our residents and develop and implement strategies that can help us to achieve a tobacco-free Louisiana.

Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey

The Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey goes to the source to learn about the relationship between youth and tobacco. Well-Ahead Louisiana and the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living distribute the Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey to collect data from students in grades 6 through 12. The results from the survey helps develop and implement strategies to prevent Louisiana youth from using tobacco products and helping current users successfully quit.

The survey provides data on the prevalence of:

  • Tobacco use (e.g. cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, hookahs, dissolvable tobacco products and electronic cigarettes)
  • Smoking cessation attempts
  • Secondhand smoke exposure
  • Knowledge and attitudes regarding tobacco use
  • Student’s ability to purchase tobacco products
  • Exposure to pro-tobacco media and advertising
  • The ease to purchase products as minors

We Need You

If your school is selected for the Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey, say yes! Your participation helps prevent youth tobacco use and encourage cessation in Louisiana.

Schools selected for the survey are randomly selected. All students in randomly selected classrooms of the participating schools are eligible to take the survey. The self-administered questionnaire is anonymous. Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey data are weighted to adjust for any unequal probabilities of selection, nonresponse, and disproportionate selection of different demographic groups.

2019 Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey (LYTS)

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Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a national survey system that collects data through telephone surveys from more than 400,000 adults across the United States annually. Respondents are asked questions regarding their health related risk factors, chronic health conditions and use of preventive services. The results of the survey can be examined at a national, state and even local level.

Some of the data collected through BRFSS data is focused on tobacco. Information collected through the system can be used in many ways to further the goals of the tobacco cessation and prevention program. One way is to determine the prevalence of tobacco use in our state each year, which helps determine whether the strategies implemented in Louisiana effectively reduce tobacco use.

2021 BRFSS fact sheets:

Understand Disparities in Our State

Using information from BRFSS and other reputable data sources, we are able to identify tobacco-related disparities among various groups of Louisiana residents.

Everyone deserves the opportunity to live life tobacco-free, and to achieve that, we must understand the unique challenges faced by different groups of our residents. Factors including race, sexual orientation, area of residence, occupation and socioeconomic status can affect how often a resident is exposed to tobacco advertising, the accessibility of comprehensive cessation services, or even how often a resident is exposed to secondhand smoke.

To better understand the disparities some groups of residents in our state face, you can review the fact sheets on these populations: