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Introduction
Background: The Florida Leadership Council for Tobacco Control was formed
in 1998 from a restructuring of the Tobacco-Free Florida Coalition. Strategic
planning for the coordination of a comprehensive tobacco control program was
conducted in 1999. From the strategic planning meetings, grew the Comprehensive
Plan for Action (the Action Plan). The Florida Department of Health now supports
two separate, but interdependent tobacco control efforts: 1) A tobacco
settlement-funded, youth-focused tobacco prevention and control effort formerly
known as the Florida Pilot Program on Tobacco Control, and 2) A Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded, adult- and community-oriented
tobacco control program.
The Florida Youth Tobacco Survey (FYTS) tracks indicators of tobacco use and
exposure to second-hand smoke among Florida public middle and high school
students, and provides data for monitoring and evaluating tobacco use among
youth in the Florida Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. The first FYTS was
administered in 1998. Since then, the FYTS has been conducted annually by the
Florida Department of Health. County level data were collected in some years.
The FYTS has become a part of the Florida Youth Survey (FYS), which includes the
Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey
(YPANS), and Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS). The FYTS has been
supported by many agencies, including the Florida Departments of Education,
Children and Families, and Juvenile Justice, school districts throughout the
state, and the Office on Smoking and Health at the CDC.
Questions Asked in FYTS: The following topics are asked in this survey:
1) Demographic information (age, gender, grade, race/ethnicity, weight, and
height); 2) Tobacco use (cigarette, smokeless tobacco, cigar, bidis, and kreteks),
tobacco sources, quitting attempts; 3) Secondhand smoke exposure; 4) Tobacco use
prevention education; 5) Students thoughts about tobacco use (tendency to use
in the future, health attitudes toward tobacco use, social attitudes toward
tobacco use); 6) Awareness of anti-tobacco media and influence from tobacco
companies; 7) Perceptions of tobacco laws in Florida.
Sampling Methods: The FYTS is a statewide, school-based confidential
survey of Floridas public middle and high school students, which is
administrated in March-April of each calendar year. It is based on a two-stage
cluster probability sample design. First, a random sample of public middle
schools and high schools is selected for participation in the survey. Second,
within each selected school, a random sample of classrooms is selected, and all
students in those classes are invited to participate in the survey. The
responses of the survey participants are calculated to reflect the prevalence of
tobacco usage in Florida public middle and high school students.
Target Population: Florida public middle and high school students (6-12
grade levels)
Data Analysis: Since the FYTS is based on a two-stage cluster probability
sampling methodology rather than a simple random sample, SUDAAN or advanced
components of SAS or other statistical programs are recommended for the data
analysis. Confidence interval is an important measure of the accuracy of the
data and very useful to make the comparisons between data.
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