2001-2003 Program Report
Make Oregon Healthier: Saving Lives and Saving Dollars

Data Sources

I. Information regarding cigarette consumption comes from:


Oregon Department of Revenue Cigarette Tax Receipts.

Data on the number of cigarettes smoked by Oregonians are estimated by tobacco tax revenue collected by the Oregon Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue's Monthly Receipt Statements include data on cigarettes tax collections.


Packs of cigarettes sold are calculated by taking the cigarette tax receipts total divided by tax rate per pack. Packs per capita is calculated by dividing the total number of cigarettes packs sold by the population estimate for Oregon. Data on cigarette consumption for the nation come from Research Triangle International (RTI), using cigarette tax revenue data from each state.


II. Information regarding adult tobacco use, including: prevalence of tobacco use, smokers' interest in quitting, attitudes toward tobacco, questions regarding exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and attitudes about exposure to ETS, information about smokers' perceptions of health care providers assistance in helping people quit smoking and related topics come from:


Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is an ongoing random-digit dialed telephone survey of adults concerning health behaviors. The BRFSS was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC) and is conducted in all states in the U.S. Each year, between 3,000 and 7,000 adult Oregonians are interviewed. The data are weighted to represent all adults aged 18 years and older. A core set of questions is asked in every state, and each state may add questions to the survey. The Oregon survey includes an additional fifty questions on attitudes and behaviors regarding tobacco. Definition of adult smoking prevalence: BRFSS survey respondents are considered current smokers if they answered "yes" to the question: "Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your lifetime?", and "every day or some days" to the question, "Do you now smoke every day, some days, or not at all?"


III. Information regarding youth tobacco use including: prevalence of youth tobacco use by school grade and youth access to tobacco comes from the following surveys:


Youth Risk Behavior Survey
The YRBS was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has been administered in a sample of Oregon schools every other year since 1991. The sample size has varied between 1,600 and 32,000 and the final data are weighted to more accurately represent the Oregon high school and middle school populations. The questionnaire assesses behavioral risks in Oregon high school students (grades nine through 12) in the areas of vehicle safety, weapon carrying and violence, tobacco use, alcohol use, other drug use, sexual activity and pregnancy, HIV knowledge and attitudes, eating behaviors, nutrition, exercise, and access to health care including use of school-based health centers. A sample of middle school students (grades 6 through 8) was added in 1997.


Oregon Public School Drug Use Survey
This anonymous survey has been administered bi-annually since 1986 by the Oregon Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs (OADAP) through the Oregon public school system. It is modeled after the ongoing national surveys of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and has included eighth and eleventh graders since 1986; a sixth grade sample was added in 1994. Schools are randomly sampled using a stratified sample design. The questionnaire assesses community characteristics, tobacco use, drug use, alcohol use, drug/alcohol use in student's peer and family network, refusal skills, susceptibility to future use, and attitudes toward school and family.

Oregon Healthy Teens Survey

Since 2000, the above two youth surveys have been combined into a single annual survey. In 2002, approximately 13,000 8th graders from 120 middle schools and 9,000 11th graders from 90 high schools were surveyed. Definition of youth smoking prevalence: Smoking prevalence in 6th, 8th and 11th graders is defined as the percentage of students who smoked one or more cigarettes in the preceding month.


IV. Information regarding the number of women who used tobacco during their pregnancy comes from:


Birth Certificate Statistical File.

Data from the Birth Certificate Statistical File are coded from birth certificates collected by the State Registrar and represent all births occurring in Oregon and all births occurring out-of-state to Oregon residents. This database includes parental identifying and demographic information, conditions of the newborn, congenital anomalies, medical factors of pregnancy, method of delivery, complications of labor and delivery, tobacco use, drinking, or illicit drug use during pregnancy, antenatal and intrapartum procedures, and payor source. The birth data analyzed for this report consist of births to Oregon residents.


V. Information about the morbidity, mortality and economic costs related to tobacco use comes from:


Death Certificate Statistical File.

The Death Certificate Statistical File includes all deaths occurring in Oregon and deaths occurring out-of-state to Oregon residents. Data are obtained from death certificates that are collected by the State Registrar. The data are used to examine trends in mortality and causes of death. Variables in this database include cause of death, decedent's identifying information, date and place of death, occupation of the decedent, whether the death was related to tobacco use, education of decedent, marital status of decedent, and county, place, and date of injury (if applicable). The mortality data analyzed for this report consist of deaths of Oregon residents.


Definition of a smoking-related death: Physician responds "yes" or "probably" to the following question on the death certificate: "Did tobacco use contribute to the death?"


Smoking-Attributable Morbidity, Mortality and Economic Costs (SAMMEC)
SAMMEC is a computer software program developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to calculate several measures of the impact of cigarette smoking for the entire U.S. and for each state. Using state-specific data on smoking prevalence (from the BRFSS), overall mortality rates, and population data, SAMMEC generates the number of deaths and death rates due to smoking, years of life lost due to premature death from cigarette smoking, and lost productivity (earnings) due to illness and premature death from smoking- related diseases.


Calculation of future reductions in mortality and economic costs: Reductions in cigarette consumption are applied to current tobaccorelated deaths and economic costs to estimate future reductions in mortality and economic costs.


VI. Information regarding County, School and Tribal progress toward program implementation comes from periodic Progress Reports submitted by the staff of the county coalitions, schools and tribes to the Department of Human Services. Information regarding Quit Line utilization is derived from periodic reports from the Quit Line staff to DHS.


A more detailed description of these data sources can be found in Oregon Tobacco Facts or by calling the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program at 971 673-1102.