A tobacco survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked youth about their gender identity.
The survey is conducted annually and seeks to gather information about attitudes toward tobacco and what tobacco influences are present in children’s lives.
The agency asserted that they have been “using this question since 2015 and most recently fielded it in 2019.”
According to the document, previous survey results suggested that “transgender youth have a disproportionate burden of tobacco use-related behaviors.”
One question read, “Sexual orientation is a person’s emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attraction to another person. There are many pas [sic] a person can describe their sexual orientation and many labels a person can use. Which of these options best describes your sexual orientation?”
Answer choices included, “straight or heterosexual,” “gay or lesbian,” “bisexual, pansexual, or queer,” “asexual,” “I am not sure,” “I don’t know what this question means,” and “decline to answer.”
“Some people describe themselves as transgender and/or nonbinary when the way they think or feel about their gender is different from their sex assigned at birth,” another question said. “Do you identify as transgender and/or nonbinary?”
Respondents had the option to respond with “no, I am not transgender and/or nonbinary,” “yes, I am transgender and/or nonbinary,” “I am not sure yet or questioning if I am transgender and/or nonbinary,” “I do not know what this question is asking,” and “decline to answer.”
