Data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study are available for use by researchers wanting to explore their own study questions. This includes both publicly available files that can be downloaded and analyzed on any computer and restricted-access files that researchers can apply to access on a secure server. Data and documentation (questionnaires, codebooks) related to the PATH Study are available at the study website at the National Addiction & HIV Data Archive Program (NAHDAP), including instructions for access to restricted- and public-use files. Available file types include Questionnaire Public-use Files (PUFs), Questionnaire Restricted-use Files (RUFs), Biomarker Restricted-use Files (BRUFs), State Identifier Restricted-use Files (SIRUFs), Tobacco Universal Product Code (TUPCRUF) Data, Special Collection Public-use Files (SCPUFs), and Special Collection Restricted-use Files (SCRUFs). Data from new waves are released as they become available.
New PATH Study Data Files from Wave 7.5
The Wave 7.5 Special Collection Restricted-Use Files from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study are now available from NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse and FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products . These Wave 7.5 files contain questionnaire data from youth (12-17 years old) and young adults (18-22 years old) collected between April 2023 and December 2023. Researchers are encouraged to submit a request to obtain data access.
The PATH Study is a household-based, nationally representative, longitudinal study of youth (12-17 years old) and adults in the United States. The study was launched in 2011 to inform FDA’s regulatory activities under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
In addition to these newly released data files, researchers may continue to request access to the Wave 1-Wave 7 Restricted-Use Files and Biomarker Restricted-Use Files. Data and documentation from the Public-Use Files are also available for download with updated Master Linkage Files.
Questions about the collection, content, weighting, documentation, or structure of PATH Study data may be submitted to PATHDataUserQuestions@Westat.com.
The first wave of data collection occurred in 2013 and completed its seventh wave in late 2024. Below is a table of data collection waves.
| Wave # | Begin Date | End Date | Restricted-Use File Data Release Date | Public-Use File Data Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 1 | September 2013 | December 2014 | December 2015 | August 2016 |
| Wave 2 | October 2014 | October 2015 | March 2017 | June 2017 |
| Wave 3 | October 2015 | October 2016 | May 2018 | September 2018 |
| Wave 4 | December 2016 | January 2018 | May 2019 | November 2019 |
| Wave 4.5 (Special collection) | December 2017 | December 2018 | March 2020 | September 2020 |
| Wave 5 | December 2018 | November 2019 | February 2021 | September 2021 |
| Wave 5.5 (Special Collection) | December 2019 | December 2020 | April 2022 | October 2022 |
| Adult Telephone Survey 2020 (Special Collection) | September 2020 | December 2020 | April 2022 | October 2022 |
| Wave 6 | March 2021 | November 2021 | March 2023 | September 2023 |
| Wave 7 | January 2022 | April 2023 | April 2024 | December 2024 |
| Wave 7.5 (Special Collection) | April 2023 | December 2023 | April 2025 | Summer 2025* |
| Wave 8 | January 2024 | December 2024 | Fall 2025* | Summer 2026* |