Tobacco use in the lgbt community

LGBTQ+ individuals may experience disparities that stem from social stigma and discriminatory treatment. On top of that, there is a different kind of disparity in the LGBT community that is often overlooked: disproportionately high tobacco use rates.

Overall, lesbian, gay and bisexual adults* smoked cigarettes at rates significantly higher than straight adults and were nearly twice as likely to use e-cigarettes and cigars — trends due in part to targeted marketing by Big Tobacco. Transgender youth currently used tobacco products at higher rates than cisgender youth, including 4X higher cigarette use and 3X higher e-cigarette use. For years the tobacco industry has made efforts to appeal to LGBT consumers through things like targeted advertisements in LGBT press, cigarette giveaways, and free tobacco industry merchandise. Today, the LGBT community is among the hardest hit by tobacco.

The tobacco industry has targeted the LGBT community for decades. Federal, state and local levels can take important steps to help reduce tobacco use overall, including among the LGBT community. Steps include:

• FDA should restrict social media and use of influencers to adult audiences. Further the Federal Trade Commission must ensure that all paid influencer advertisements are declared and clearly indicate the risks associated with nicotine use.
• FDA must remove all flavored tobacco from the market, including menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars and e-cigarettes. We support a permanent ban on flavored tobacco unless a manufacturer can demonstrate three things to the FDA: 1) that a particular flavor helps current tobacco users switch completely to a substantially less hazardous product, 2) it will not lead non-tobacco users, such as youth, to start, and 3) the flavor itself does not increase the risk of harm from using the product. States and localities should also restrict sales of flavored tobacco.
• Ensure access to cessation services and reduce barriers to care for the LGBT community.
• Improve data collection on topics including tobacco use rates, perceptions, disease risk in the LGBT community to ensure a more robust picture of tobacco use among this group.

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