Methodological notes for the prevalence explorer

These notes summarize the rules used to process the surveys behind the prevalence explorer. They are based on the cleaning work that the EconHealth Insights team carried out for each country. Where a working definition departs from the survey’s official definition for a methodological reason, the official definition is used.

Common rules

Full denominator. Anyone who does not answer a question because the questionnaire skips it (never smoked, did not reach 100 cigarettes, does not know e-cigarettes) is counted as “no” and stays in the denominator. E-cigarettes and heated tobacco are also calculated this way.
Expansion factors and survey design. All estimates use each survey’s expansion factor. The 95% confidence intervals use each edition’s survey design (cluster, stratum and factor) when the public dataset provides it; when only replicate weights exist, those weights are used. If an edition does not publish its design, the interval is marked as approximate.
Records without an expansion factor are excluded from the estimates.
Cigarettes per day. Calculated among current smokers with consumption data. Someone who smokes on some days of the week enters with their fractional average (for example, 3 per week is equivalent to 0.4 per day). Invalid responses, zeros and values above 100 are discarded.
Comparability. When the question, population or design changes between two editions, the dashboard does not join them with a line and shows a warning.
Geographic breakdowns are shown only for editions representative at that level.
Dual use. The indicator “Dual use: smokes tobacco and uses e-cigarettes” is the percentage of the entire population that does both, using each country’s smoker definition; it matches the “dual use” category in the Dual use tab. The indicators “% of smokers” and “% of e-cigarette users” use only that group as the denominator, which is why they yield higher figures.

Mexico

Surveys and populations. GATS covers people aged 15 and older; the ENA/ENCODAT, ages 12 to 65; the ENSANUT, ages 10 and older. Results are shown for each survey’s original population and also for the harmonized range of 15 to 65 years.
Current smoker. GATS: smokes tobacco daily or less than daily (any smoked tobacco). ENA/ENCODAT 2016 and 2025, and ENSANUT 2018 onward: smokes every day or some days. Daily smoker: someone who answers “every day.”
ENA 2008 and 2011 asked whether the person smoked in the last 12 months, not whether they currently smoke. That is why they do not form a continuous series with 2016 and 2025.
Cigarettes per day. In the ENSANUT, daily smokers are asked how many cigarettes they smoke per day, and those who smoke on some days, how many per week. GATS asks about manufactured cigarettes and reports the average among daily smokers, so it is not directly comparable with the ENSANUT. The ENA/ENCODAT publishes consumption in ranges (fewer than 16, 16 to 25, more than 25).
E-cigarettes (ENSANUT). The question describes e-cigarettes as products that use batteries or other methods to produce a vapor that may contain nicotine. Anyone who does not know the product is counted as a non-user.
Nicotine pouches. Only the ENCODAT 2025 asks about them (current use: every day or some days; anyone who does not know them is counted as a non-user). GATS 2023 asks about smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco, snuff or powder), which is a different product.
Heated tobacco. Asked by GATS 2023 and ENCODAT 2025 (current use, over the whole population). These surveys have different questionnaires and populations, so they are shown without a connecting line.
ENSANUT 2020 uses the weight updated to the 2020 Census. The continuous editions (2020–2024) are not representative by state; state-level maps use only editions that are.
Quit attempts (ENA). In 2008 and 2011, respondents were asked whether they had ever tried to quit smoking; in 2016, whether they had tried in the last 12 months. These are shown as separate series.

Argentina

Surveys. Encuesta Nacional de Factores de Riesgo (ENFR; INDEC; 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2018; people aged 18 and older in urban localities) and Encuesta Nacional sobre Consumos y Prácticas de Cuidado (ENCoPraC; INDEC–SEDRONAR; 2022; people aged 16 to 75). The common range for comparison is 18 to 75 years.
Current smoker (ENFR). A person who smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their life and currently smokes every day or some days. Anyone who never smoked or did not reach 100 cigarettes is counted as a non-smoker.
The ENCoPraC does not continue the ENFR series. It asks about the use of any type of tobacco in the last 30 days, without the 100-cigarette threshold, and covers a different population (31 urban agglomerations). It is shown as a separate survey without breakdown by province.
Questionnaire changes. The ENFR 2018 renewed much of the tobacco questionnaire; the e-cigarette questions exist only in that edition.
Confidence intervals for the ENFR 2018 use the bootstrap replicate weights published by INDEC; earlier editions do not publish their survey design.

Chile

Survey. Estudio Nacional de Drogas en Población General (ENPG, SENDA), biennial since 1994. The population used is ages 12 to 64, the same as the official figures from the Observatorio Chileno de Drogas.
Past-month smoker. Someone who reported having smoked cigarettes in the last 30 days. This definition differs from those used in Mexico and Argentina, which is noted when comparing countries.
Daily smoker. Someone who smoked on 20 to 30 of the last 30 days (SENDA’s definition). In 1998 and 2000 the question asked about frequency, which creates a break in the series.
E-cigarettes. The questions have existed since 2014. Current use is use in the last 30 days, over the whole population.
Cigarettes per day. Among past-month smokers; extreme values are trimmed at each year’s weighted 99th percentile.
Regional maps only from 2018 onward: before that, the regional division is not comparable with the current 16 regions.