PATH Study Data Access

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 for W7.5 and Enhanced W6/7 Location Data

The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study has released two new data sets, including an innovative data type for researchers on locale that can provide a fresh resource for research questions.

The Wave 7.5 Special Collection Public-Use Files are now available from FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products and NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse. 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. Adult and youth/parent Location Characteristics Restricted-Use Files from Wave 6 (2021) and Wave 7 (2022–2023) have also been released. These variables characterize a respondent's neighborhood of residence as one of four basic locale types: City, Suburban, Town, or Rural. Providing an enhanced measure of a respondent’s location improves the ability of researchers to understand relationships between tobacco use behaviors and community characteristics. Researchers are encouraged to submit a request to obtain data access.

In addition to these newly released data files, the Wave 7.5 Special Collection Restricted-Use Files were also made available in April 2025. 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.

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.

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 DateEnd DateRestricted-Use File Data Release DatePublic-Use File Data Release Date
Wave 1September 2013December 2014December 2015August 2016
Wave 2October 2014October 2015March 2017June 2017
Wave 3October 2015October 2016May 2018September 2018
Wave 4December 2016January 2018May 2019November 2019
Wave 4.5 (Special collection)December 2017December 2018March 2020September 2020
Wave 5December 2018November 2019February 2021September 2021
Wave 5.5 (Special Collection)December 2019December 2020April 2022October 2022
Adult Telephone Survey 2020 (Special Collection)September 2020December 2020April 2022October 2022
Wave 6March 2021November 2021March 2023September 2023
Wave 7January 2022April 2023April 2024December 2024
Wave 7.5 (Special Collection)April 2023December 2023April 2025June 2025
Wave 8              January 2024December 2024Fall 2025*Summer 2026*

*Projected dates may change.