The Tobacco Longitudinal Mortality Study (TLMS) consists of a database developed for the purpose of studying the effects of demographic and socio-economic characteristics on differentials in U.S. mortality rates with specific emphasis on tobacco use.  Specific features of this database are:

• Unique research database based on a random sample of the non-institutionalized population of the United States
• Consists of Current Population Survey Tobacco-Use Supplements which cover the period from September 1985 to July 2018 and include extensive tobacco-use data
• Tobacco-use data are combined with death certificate information to identify mortality status and cause of death
• Approximately 1.6 million records
• Mortality information (including primary and secondary causes of death) obtained from death certificates available through the National Center for Health Statistics - National Death Index
• Variables available for analysis include: education, income, employment, and information on mortality collected from death certificates, including cause of death

Using the TLMS, researchers can:

• Answer questions on mortality differentials for a variety of important demographic subgroups not covered as extensively in other databases
• Examine tobacco use and associated mortality in a large national sample of American households
• Estimate all-cause and cause-specific mortality outcomes including cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attack, and respiratory disease (including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)) associated with the use of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah, and smokeless tobacco products
• Assess the mortality and cancer risk of common dual and poly-use patterns
• Examine the influence of tobacco cessation on total mortality, cause-specific mortality, and cancer incidence
• Provide new information about the link between tobacco use and mortality
• Provide answers to specific public health questions which are not available from other sources
• Publish research findings in scholarly, scientific, and health related journals