It's part of our "culture", especially in the bars and social clubs
Big tobacco targets our community as a lucrative and loyal niche market, advertising on themes that are important to the LGBTQ community: liberation, sex appeal, independence, individualism, and gender stereotypes.
We use tobacco for many reasons, including to reduce stress, as a social lubricant to fit in and belong, and as a way of being defiant or seeming independent.
It matters that we smoke more. We have tobacco-related health consequences at greater rates because of it, including the tendency for people living with HIV to develop AIDS sooner; higher rates of lung cancer (more women die of lung cancer than of other cancers) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, plus higher rates of other cancers (such as esophageal, breast and cervical). The GLMA (Gay and Lesbian Medical Association) provides a complete report on LGBT Health, including tobacco issues ( www.glma.org ) called “Healthy People 2010 Companion Document for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Health. Check it out!
Our LGBTQ community is targeted by the tobacco industry. Read the report by Perry Stevens and see examples of direct advertising, indirect advertising, event sponsorships, and community promotions that sell tobacco to our community ( http://ttac.org/lgbt/pdfs/2nd/LGBT2ndedition.pdf ). Some examples include ads in The Advocate, marketing of Virginia Slims to lesbians, the “S.C.U.M.” (Sub-Culture Urban Marketing) campaign run by R.J. Reynolds to sell tobacco to gay men and homeless people in San Francisco, and the sponsorship of Pride on the Plaza in Santa Fe by the Natural American Spirit tobacco company (formerly Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co.), which is owned by R.J. Reynolds (of the “SCUM” campaign).
1 NM Department of Health, 2005. About 37% of LGB adults in NM smoke, compared to 19% of straight adults. In other words, LGB adults are about twice as likely to smoke as their straight counterparts. This translates into an estimated 13,700 LGB adults in NM who smoke.
In addition, LGB adults are the least likely group to have a smoke-free home rule (only 61% of LGB adults versus 78% of all New Mexicans). Therefore, it is not surprising that LGB adults were the group most likely to report exposure to secondhand smoke in their home. LGB adults were more than twice as likely to report secondhand smoke exposure at home in the past week, as compared to the general population (35% versus 16%).
Source: 2003 New Mexico Adult Tobacco Survey, as presented in "Tobacco-Related Data for Specific Populations: New Mexico and U.S." PowerPoint presentation by the NM Department of Health Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program, March 2005.
What’s being done in NM? There are two groups actively working to provide us with information about tobacco and how our community is targeted – plus Equality NM is committed to providing health information, too! The Stop Tobacco On My People (STOMP) organization, funded through the NM Dept. of Health (Tobacco Use Prevention & Control Program), works to reduce the health disparities experienced by subpopulations that are targeted by tobacco and which use tobacco at higher rates, including the LGBTQ community. You can reach STOMP at (505) 988-3473 for all kinds of information and resources about tobacco. The other group is Fierce Pride, a grassroots organization also providing information and culturally appropriate education for our community. You can reach them at www.fiercepride.org .
