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Tobacco Control Country Profiles

Data, Surveillance and Research

Topics

Country-specific Data

The Pan American Tobacco Information Online System (PATIOS) is a web based information system containing country-specific data on a wide variety of tobacco control topics: health impact, policy and legislation, economics of tobacco, cessation, and planning and programming. The sources are the Tobacco Control Legislation and the Regional Survey of Country-Specific Data

The objective is to disseminate the information and to make possible that the Member States appreciate their situation in comparison with the other country experience and strengthen their own policies and interventions in order to diminish effectively morbidity and mortality associated with the tobacco use.

PATIOS main page

Ambient Nicotine Levels in the Americas

To support smoke-free polices and the programs to reduce the exposure to secondhand smoke in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Institute for Global Tobacco Control of the Johns Hopkins University developed a study to estimate the exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the Latin American and the Caribbean countries using a common methodology. The main results were published in a scientific paper Secondhand Tobacco Smoke in Public Places in Latin America, 2002-2003.

Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS)

As part of the effort to promote global tobacco control, WHO/PAHO and CDC developed the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). The GYTS is a school-based survey of students age 13-15 years using a common methodology and core questionnaire. GYTS is composed of "core" country-approved questions designed to gather data on the following seven topics: prevalence of cigarette smoking and other tobacco use among young people; knowledge and attitudes of young people towards cigarette smoking; the role of the media and advertising on young people’s use of cigarettes; access to cigarettes; tobacco-related school curriculum; environmental tobacco smoke(ETS); and cessation of cigarette smoking. The available datasets can be downloaded free of costs. The results can be seen in the country fact sheets. These data have been used in several scientific papers as Differences in Worldwide Tobacco Use by Gender: Findings from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey.

Global Health Professionals Survey (GHPS)

As part of the effort to promote global tobacco control, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC), and the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) developed the Global Health Professional Survey (GHPS). The GHPS is a school-based survey of third-year students pursuing advanced degree in dentistry, medicine, nursing, or pharmacy. The GHPS uses a core questionnaire on demographics, prevalence of cigarette smoking and other tobacco use, knowledge and attitudes about tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, desire for smoke cessation, and training received regarding patient counseling on smoking cessation techniques. The GHPS has a standardized methodology for selecting participating schools and classes and uniform data processing procedures. The findings from the GHPS Pilot Study, which consisted of 16 surveys conducted in 10 countries during the first quarter of 2005, were summarized in the country fact sheets and in the scientific paper Tobacco Use and Cessation Counseling – Global Health Professionals Survey Pilot Study, 10 countries, 2005.

Country profiles


This section provides a summary on statistical information about tobacco use in the Americas. The information is part of the document Tobacco Control Country Profiles, published jointly by the American Cancer Society, the World Health Organization, and the International Union Against Cancer. Review the general summary for the Region of the Americas.

For country specific information, please visit the links below:

Argentina
Barbados
Bolivia
Canada
Colombia
Cuba
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guatemala
Haiti
Jamaica
Nicaragua
Paraguay
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay