Protecting the Public's Privacy

The information for this survey was collected by the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in accordance with Section 8 and is protected by Section 9 of Title 13 of the U.S. Code.

The law...

We are required by this law to protect the confidentiality of individual survey respondents and not to disclose the identity of any person who participated in the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol Related Conditions. Moreover, information collected in this survey can be used only for statistical purposes and cannot be used against a respondent by any government agency or court.

The affidavit of non-disclosure...

The only people allowed to work with information that could identify an individual must take an oath and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data.

The penalties...

Violators of this oath face severe penalties that could include a prison sentence of up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Safeguards...

Federal law protects the confidentiality of respondents in this survey, and the Census Bureau and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism take this responsibility seriously. Data products and reports are carefully reviewed to ensure that disclosure avoidance measures are applied.

Last updated: 02/22/08