The Tobacco Use Data Dashboard
These data come from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), also known as the Virginia Adult Health Survey (VAHS), collected by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). Virginia residents aged 18 years or older who take part in the BRFSS survey answer questions about their tobacco and nicotine use. The BRFSS survey is conducted each year and includes core questions related to tobacco and nicotine. In odd years only, the Adult Tobacco Survey (ATS) is administered as part of the larger BRFSS survey and includes more in-depth questions concerning tobacco and nicotine use.
Counts and percentages collected through the BRFSS survey are weighted to represent the adult population of Virginia. Weighting adjusts for demographic differences between persons who answer the survey questions and the population that they represent. Survey responses of “don’t know/not sure,” refusal to answer, or missing answers are not included in the data. This dashboard is updated annually for the previous calendar year.
Data Note
Counts and percentages with a sample size of less than fifty (50) should be interpreted with caution. Sample sizes of less than fifty (50) are considered unstable. The instability is represented in the difference between the Upper Confidence Level (CL) and Lower Confidence Level (CL).
Demographics Tab Data Interpretation Note
Percentages displayed represent the rate in which individuals of that specific demographic group consume tobacco or nicotine by the selected “Use Type.”
Example: Year = 2021, Use Type = Current Smoker, Translation = 13.42% of males and 11.50% of females identified as current smokers in 2021.
Key Terms
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS): The nation’s premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. Established in 1984 with 15 states, BRFSS now collects data in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories. BRFSS completes more than 400,000 adult interviews each year, making it the largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world. In Virginia, this is known as the Virginia Adult Health Survey (VAHS).
Adult Tobacco Survey (ATS): Subset of questions within BRFSS specific to tobacco and nicotine use that are asked only every odd year, with 2019 being the first year these questions were administered.
Use Type: Describes how nicotine is being consumed.
Current Smoker: An adult over the age of 18 who has smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and who currently smokes on at least some days. This indicator is used to define prevalence of individuals who smoke only cigarettes.
Current E-Cigarette User: Responses of ‘every day’ or ‘some days’ to the question “Do you now use e-cigarettes or other electronic vaping products every day, some days, or not at all?”
Smokeless Tobacco User: Responses of ‘every day’ or ‘some days’ to the question “Do you currently use chewing tobacco, snuff, or snus every day, some days, or not at all?”
Ever Used an E-Cigarette: Response of ‘yes’ to the question “Have you ever used an e-cigarette or other electronic vaping product, even just one time, in your entire life?”
Nicotine User: Combines responses that meet the definitions for “Current Smoker,” “Current E-cigarette User,” “Current Smokeless User” as well as “Other Tobacco Products User” into one calculated variable. This variable is only available for odd years beginning in 2019 as it utilizes responses from the Adult Tobacco Survey.
Other Tobacco Products: Include cigars, cigarillos (very small cigars that look like cigarettes), hookah, and/or water pipe.
Count: Calculated based upon the final weight in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey data. The final weight in BRFSS accounts for the differences in being selected to participate in the survey, the differences in individuals who choose not to respond to the survey, as well as any gaps in the sampling frame. Counts and percentages included here are weighted to represent the population for individual states.
Percent/Percentages: Calculated based upon the final weight in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey data. The final weight in the BRFSS accounts for the unequal probability of selection, differential non-response, and possible deficiencies in the sampling frame. Counts and percentages included here are weighted to represent the population for individual states.
Confidence Level (CL): The range of certainty a particular measure or variable would record the same percentage or count if the experiment were performed again. Lower Confidence Level is the low-end predicted outcome of a given measure/variable. Upper Confidence Level is the high-end predicted outcome of a given measure/variable.
Sample Size: Number of people from a given demographic who participated in the BRFSS question(s) used to calculate the measure/variable.
Health District: Thirty-five (35) predefined geographic areas within Virginia by the Virginia Department of Health made up of one or more independent cities and counties. For more information regarding Virginia’s health districts, visit this page.
Health Region: Five (5) predefined geographic areas within the Commonwealth of Virginia made up of smaller, health districts. For more information regarding Virginia’s health districts, visit this page or see the image below. The “Health Region Map” included as a link in the dashboard, like the one below, is for area reference only and does not include data.
Race/Ethnicity Categories:
- Black or African American: Non-Hispanic persons who identify as “Black or African American”
- Hispanic or Latino: Individuals of any race who identify as “Hispanic or Latino”
- Other Race: Non-Hispanic persons who report as “Other Race” or multiracial
- American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, or the selection of more than once race
- White: Non-Hispanic persons who identify as “White” alone