State tobacco activities tracking and evaluation (STATE) system: Cross-promoting healthy people 2020 tobacco use indicators

Background: Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. As part of its mission to reduce the incidence of tobacco related disease and preventable death, CDC's Office on Smoking created the State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System. Indicators in STATE present data related to current and former tobacco use, smoking cessation, funding, tobacco-related health costs, and tobacco control policies. The STATE System also serves as a primary data source for many objectives in Healthy People 2020's Tobacco Use chapter.

Methods: A comprehensive evaluation was conducted of the STATE System's individual reports and static web-content as it relates to Healthy People 2020 objectives. Implications for research and evaluation are intended to educate the Office on Smoking and Health's staff & colleagues in the states, networks, and territories on identifiable, cross-promotional opportunities that highlight both state and national data.

Conclusions: States and communities use Healthy People as a roadmap for tracking progress toward national health objectives. By synthesizing these systems' data into health promotion tools, states and communities gain increased access to information related to national tobacco control and prevention initiatives. These materials provide public health officials and researchers with knowledge of a comprehensive tool for tobacco research, and public health professionals can use these systems' broad range of data and advanced reporting features to disseminate data related to tobacco control.