- Joined
- Jan 25, 2014
- Messages
- 11,942
- Reaction score
- 1,217
- Points
- 159
Do You Smoke Or Use Tobacco Products?
I smoked for many years but I quit 6 years ago on the day my mother moved on to greener pastures.
I read the article below and I'm posting this thread with a poll to see how many Gay Heaven members use tobacco.
The poll is anonymous. No one will know how you answered.
Multiple answers allowed.
Please take a few seconds and add your input to the poll.
I smoked for many years but I quit 6 years ago on the day my mother moved on to greener pastures.
I read the article below and I'm posting this thread with a poll to see how many Gay Heaven members use tobacco.
Smoking prevalence in LGBT community alarms health officials
The Columbus Dispatch | By Maria DeVito | Friday June 19, 2015 5:32 AM
More than four out of 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults in Ohio smoke, nearly twice the percentage for heterosexuals, according to a 2013 study
At 18, Richard Wilson took a cue from his friends and lit his first cigarette.
But eight years later, the Short North resident decided the negative health effects outweighed his desire to light up.
“Needing a cigarette is really annoying,” said Wilson, now 27, who quit smoking after last year’s Columbus Pride Festival.
According to the 2013 Ohio Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 43.4 percent of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults in the state use tobacco products — nearly double the rate among heterosexual adults.
That’s why the Ohio Department of Health and Columbus Public Health will have booths this weekend at the Columbus Pride Festival, where they will hand out brochures about smoking cessation.
Both are following the lead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says the rates must drop.
The state Health Department will have experts on hand to answer questions about smoking cessation and health issues, said Russ Kennedy a spokesman for the department. The city is offering free testing for sexually transmitted diseases, said Jose Rodriguez, a spokesman for Columbus Public Health. High stress levels can lead to tobacco use, said Mary Ellen Wewers, a professor of health behavior and health promotion at Ohio State University.
“Particularly in the LGBT population, there may be higher levels of marginalization or discrimination in society,” Wewers said. “There’s also some stigma, and that can cause stress.”
Julia Applegate, a health program manager for Columbus Public Health, said part of the reason the smoking rate is so high is because the LGBT community was targeted by tobacco companies in the 1990s.
“In a way, it kind of made you feel good,” Applegate said. “You started to feel affirmed in your identity because a company recognized you.”
Wewers said same-sex couples don’t always have the same health-care benefits provided to heterosexual couples.
“Sometimes there isn’t access to treatment,” she said. “Most people want to quit smoking, but you know some of this involves counseling and medication.”
Smoking also seems like a way to fit in socially, some say.
“I think in the community, people are more social smokers,” said Liam Gallagher, 23, who said he smokes occasionally, but added he hasn’t had a cigarette in more than a year.
SOURCE
The poll is anonymous. No one will know how you answered.
Multiple answers allowed.
Please take a few seconds and add your input to the poll.
Last edited:
