Georgia Tobacco Use Surveillance
Tobacco use surveillance at the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) aims to monitor tobacco-related behaviors, attitudes, health outcomes, and policies at regular intervals of time. This is achieved by conducting surveys to obtain data on adult and youth smoking prevalence, tobacco disparities, smoking cessation, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, attitudes and beliefs around tobacco use, emerging tobacco products, school curriculum and policies, worksite smoking policies and practices, local ordinances related to tobacco use and indoor air quality, and prevention policies to advise smokers to quit in the health care setting. Tobacco use surveillance is also conducted by using existing data available for various tobacco-related diseases such as lung cancer and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases available through the Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Registry, Georgia Hospital Association, State Office of Vital Records, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and DPH Online Analytical Statistical Information System (OASIS). Tobacco use surveillance in Georgia is important to measure achievement of Healthy People 2020 Tobacco Goals.
Goals
- To systematically collect tobacco-related data statewide and by public health district.
- To make data reports available to the public and health care professionals.
- To provide tobacco-related data to the Georgia Tobacco Use Prevention Program (GTUPP) and to other public health prevention programs as needed.
- To assist the Georgia Tobacco Use Prevention Program in the planning and evaluation of its program objectives.