QueerTips Says: Some Stuff We Know About Smoking
Here’s something we all know: LGBTQ folks smoke at a higher rate than their straight/cisgender counterparts. In fact, LGBTQ folks are twice as likely to smoke as their straight peers.
Here’s something else we know: the tobacco industry is completely, unbelievably evil.
Here’s how these two things align: In the 90’s and early 2000’s, people were smoking less. The health risks were more obvious and well-known, doctors weren’t bumming smokes off their patients in movies anymore, and then there’s the matter of smoking killing you, leaving fewer people to buy cigarettes. So the marketing folks at major tobacco companies realized it was time to appeal to some more niche markets. Namely, LGBTQ people.
From Slate:
“Researchers have blamed queers’ higher smoking rates on a variety of factors, including the daily stress of coping with prejudice and stigma. Yet while stress has indeed been correlated to tobacco use, it’s not the entire story. Over the last 25 years, several major cigarette companies have also launched strategic ad campaigns aimed at the LGBTQ community. By positioning themselves as allies to the gay rights movement, these corporations have worked relentlessly to make smoking an accepted part of queer culture.”
(To be fair, Suburu did this appeal-to-LGBT-people-as-marketing-tactic at around the same time, but Suburus don’t cause lung cancer.)
So, yes, the stress of dealing with prejudice can cause marginalized communities, like LGBTQ people, to smoke or seek other less-than-healthy forms of relief at higher rates than those who don’t deal with these same issues, but there was a concerted push on the part of Big Tobacco to make sure smoking was a mainstay among LGBTQ people. Which isn’t to say that anyone that smokes is super gullible, but that it’s an easy habit to pick up and a notoriously difficult addiction to kick - and the industry specifically spent time and money to hurt you. (Total assholes, right?)
Enter This Free Life, a surprisingly decent anti-smoking campaign from the FDA aimed at combating smoking in the LGBTQ community. It’s good to see the federal government taking a stand for the health and wellness for LGBTQ people.
Look, you don’t need us to tell you — smoking is expensive and incredibly detrimental to your health, and the health of those around you. If you’re trying to quit, there’s also the Smoke Free app which, anecdotally, has helped some people in our lives kick the habit once and for all.
If you or someone you care about is struggling with quitting we hope these might help. It’s hard work. If you have any tips or things that really helped share ‘em, eah?
