Guidelines and Recommendations

In October 1989, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) conducted a survey of state health department personnel regarding programs, policies, and public health systems that stress the prevention and control of the use of tobacco. This survey provided detailed data associated with state tobacco-use control programs and their essential components (e.g., budgets, planning, coalitions, surveillance systems, smoking cessation programs, educational activities, legislative actions, and health department policies). States vary widely in the strength and coverage of their programs for preventing and controlling tobacco use. The ASTHO survey data may be used to help plan and evaluate state health department programs as part of an effort to prevent chronic diseases related to tobacco use. Outcomes of state activities may be evaluated through surveys such as CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the Current Population Survey (CPS) of the Bureau of the Census. Future surveys of state activities for controlling the use of tobacco may be included in the evaluation of the upcoming (1993) American Stop Smoking Intervention Study (ASSIST), which is cosponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.