About GTSS

GTSS Data logo

The Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS) aims to enhance country capacity to design, implement, and evaluate tobacco control interventions, and monitor key articles of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and components of the WHO MPOWER technical package.

GTSS Data Sources

GTSS includes over 20 tobacco data topics including tobacco use, tobacco advertising, cessation, secondhand smoke, school policies, and perceptions of smoking behaviors. the collection of data through four surveys:

  • The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS)
    The GYTS focuses on youth aged 13-15 years and collects information in schools
  • The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS)
    The GATS is a nationally representative household survey that monitors tobacco use among adults aged 15 years and older
  • The Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS)
    The TQS includes an adult and youth version and provides standardized tobacco questions for integration into other existing surveys for continuous surveillance and/or when it is not feasible for countries to conduct GATS or GYTS.

    TQS is a list of 22 survey questions taken from the GATS core questionnaire and TQS-Youth is a list of 21 survey questions from the GYTS core questionnaire that can be integrated into surveys to promote data comparability within and across countries over time. These questions can be included in any survey (e.g., health or social surveys) to get a comprehensive picture of tobacco control in any population of interest. The integration of TQS and TQS-Youth is intended to enhance the capacity of countries to design, implement and evaluate tobacco control interventions outlined in the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) through the MPOWER policy package.1

More information about the TQS-Adult and TQS-Youth surveys is available on the GTSSData Documentation page.

Inactive GTSS surveys include the Global School Personnel Survey  (GSPS) and the Global Health Professionals Student Survey (GHPSS). GSPS surveyed teachers and administrators from the same schools that participate in the GYTS. GHPSS focused on 3rd-year students pursuing degrees in dentistry, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy.

GTSS Partners

The World Health Organization (WHO), CDC, and the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) started the GTSS in 1999.

Please send us your questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the Global Tobacco Surveillance System Data (GTSSData).

GTSSData Questions: gtssinfo@cdc.gov
General Questions for the Office on Smoking and Health: tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov