The GATS protocol provides a complete overview, guidelines and supporting materials for countries wishing to undertake GATS. By using the same standardized questions and protocols, all countries can use key tobacco control indicators not only for monitoring within-country trends, but also for making comparisons across countries. The approach encourages the collection of small amounts of useful information on a regular basis.

In order to maximize the efficiency of the data collected from GATS, a series of manuals has been created. These manuals are designed to provide countries with standard requirements as well as several recommendations on the design and implementation of the survey in every step of the GATS process. They are also designed to offer guidance on how a particular country might adjust features of the GATS protocol in order to maximize the utility of the data within the country. In order to maintain consistency and comparability across countries, following the standard protocol is strongly encouraged.