District Invitation Letter

[DATE]
[Superintendent Name]
[District Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]
Dear Superintendent [Last Name]:
I am writing to inform you that [NUMBER] school(s) in your district is/are among the
approximately 365 schools randomly selected across the United States to participate in the 2021
National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
Preventing tobacco product use among youth is critical to ending the tobacco epidemic in the
United States. Youth use of tobacco products in any form is unsafe. The Surgeon General has
written that while considerable progress has been made in reducing cigarette smoking among U.S.
youth, the tobacco product landscape continues to evolve to include a variety of new types of
products, including electronic vapor products such as e-cigarettes. These products typically contain
nicotine, which is highly addictive, can harm the developing adolescent brain, and can prime the
brain for addition to other drugs. Efforts such as the NYTS have increased our ability to measure
changes in tobacco use behaviors and their influences, thereby enabling states, school districts,
schools, and community organizations to adapt their tobacco prevention and control programs to
combat the most prevailing issues at hand.
First conducted in 1999, the NYTS is an ongoing survey of students in grades 6 through 12 that
gathers information on: (1) prevalence of use (electronic cigarettes, cigarettes, cigars, smokeless
tobacco, hookahs, pipe tobacco, and bidis), (2) knowledge and attitudes, (3) media and advertising,
(4) minors' access and enforcement, (5) school curriculum, (6) secondhand smoke exposure, and
(7) cessation. Each cycle has produced valuable data regarding students’ knowledge of and
attitudes toward tobacco, their exposure to secondhand smoke, and their exposure to influences
that promote or discourage tobacco use.
The selected school(s) in your district is/are shown below, along with the number of anticipated
classes at each grade level:
School
[School Name]

Grade (Number of Classes)
[6th (#), 7th (#), 8th (#), 9th (#), 10th (#), 11th (#), 12th
(#)]

The CDC respects the educational mission of schools. For that reason, only a small number of
classes in each school, one or two at each selected grade level, are chosen randomly to participate.
Data collection will occur during late January through May 2021. Specially trained field staff will
bring all the materials necessary to administer the survey, via tablet, during one normal class
period. Survey administration procedures are designed to protect student privacy and allow for
anonymous participation. States, counties, cities, school districts, schools, and students will not be
identified in any published reports.

As a symbol of appreciation for contributing their time and support, the CDC will provide each
participating school with a monetary award. One option is to use these funds for prevention
curriculum and educational materials. However, no restrictions will be placed on how schools can
use these funds.
Your support for this survey will help ensure the voluntary participation of the school(s) selected
in your district. The NYTS is the most comprehensive, nationally representative source of data
regarding tobacco-related behaviors and the only source of such data for middle school students
(grades 6-8). In parallel to this national survey, the YTS questionnaire is used independently by
many state and local departments of education and health to conduct their own surveys. Results
from the national survey serve as an index against which state- and local-level data can be
compared and are used by states to support the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective
tobacco use prevention and control programs.
Enclosed are copies of the NYTS questionnaire, sample parental permission forms, and study fact
sheets. Within one week, a representative from ICF, a nationally recognized research firm
contracted by CDC to conduct the NYTS, will contact you to confirm your receipt of this
information and answer any questions you may have. If you have any immediate questions, please
call Alice Roberts at 1-800-675-9727. Your support for this survey, which will help assess and
improve efforts to reduce priority health-risk behaviors among adolescents throughout our nation,
is appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

Linda J. Neff, PhD, MSPH
Chief, Epidemiology Branch, Office on Smoking and Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Enclosures
cc:

Sean Hu, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Alice Roberts, ICF
Jill Trott, ICF
, ICF
,
,
,