Is Smoking the Greatest Threat to People Living with HIV?

Tobacco kills more HIV-positive D.C. residents than AIDS

Smoking is killing our community. Every year, tobacco-related diseases take more than 30,000 LGBT lives. In Washington, D.C., smoking is responsible for approximately 800 deaths every year, with a disproportionate number of those deaths coming from the LGBT community. Nearly 25 percent of LGBT adults in the United States smoke, compared to only about 17 percent of straight adults.

Among those living with HIV/AIDS, tobacco use is even more prevalent. It is estimated that as many as 40 percent of people living with HIV Smoke, a rate more than twice that of the general adult population in the United States.  Smoking is now more likely to kill people living with HIV than the virus itself.

Because HIV hinders the body’s ability to fight off infection or disease, smokers with HIV are more prone to both HIV-related infections (such as Thrush, white mouth sores, and pneumonia) and fatal tobacco-related illnesses (such as COPD, heart disease and stroke, and cancer). In fact, the life expectancy of a 35-year-old smoker with HIV is cut by nearly eight years because of smoking.

Smoking also negatively impacts anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for HIV patients. According to a study published in AIDS, smoking doubles the risk of death for someone with HIV on ART.

Higher rates of smoking in the LGBT community can be attributed to a wide range of factors, including coping with the added stress of societal prejudices. Unfortunately, many of the places meant to be safe havens for LGBT individuals and those with HIV are actually the main battlegrounds for fighting smoking. The tobacco industry has targeted LGBT individuals and people with HIV for 25 years, advertising at LGBT community events, including Pride, and even giving money to both national and local LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations.

Surveys have found that two-thirds of smokers with HIV want to quit, but they need more resources to do so long-term. With the highest rates of HIV in the country, the District should take heed.

This year, the D.C. Tobacco Free Coalition, the D.C. Department of Health, and more than 40 community organizations are coming together to battle smoking as part of D.C. Calls It Quits Week, Sept. 19-25. But more help is needed to help D.C. smokers quit and save LGBT lives from tobacco-related diseases.

First, policymakers and providers should make every effort to reach out to the LGBT community to work with them to raise awareness about the connection between HIV and smoking. Better education for the LGBT community on the specific dangers of smoking while being HIV positive would help discourage tobacco use among patients.

Counseling and treatment to quit smoking should also be integrated into all HIV patients’ treatment programs, including both physical and mental health. We know that smokers with HIV who receive counseling and treatment to quit smoking, in conjunction with ART or mental health treatment, are more likely to successfully quit smoking than when attempting to quit on their own.

Finally, access to resources to quit smoking must be made available for every D.C. resident with HIV. If you are a smoker in D.C., call 1-800-Quit-Now (784-8669).

This article originally appeared in the Washington Blade.

Tobacco kills more HIV-positive D.C. residents than AIDS
Tobacco kills more HIV-positive D.C. residents than AIDS

FDA Launches LGBT Youth Tobacco Prevention Campaign

LGBT Youth Tobacco Prevention Campaign - This Free Life

 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially launched their new This Free Life campaign to shift the conversation about smoking in the LGBT Community.  While smoking is an issue that is not often discussed in our community, it has a profound impact on our community, particularly when we are talking about LGBT Youth.

“We know LGBT young adults in this country are nearly twice as likely to use tobacco as other young adults, says Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.

On hand for the launch was Dr. Scout from Healthlink, a program of the CenterLink, the National Association of LGBT Community Centers.   Scout provided valuable information to the FDA on best practices with regards to reaching the LGBT Community and was one of many LGBT communty members who provided feedback on the campaign, which was market tested with over 1,000 LGBT Youth.

“There are a number of factors that contribute to the higher risk for tobacco use among LGBT young adults.  The coming out process is a unique tobacco-use risk factor for LGBT young adults due to the actual and perceived social stigma, discrimination and anxiety experienced during this process.  And data show that the coming out process faced by most LGBT young adults can lead to tobacco use and negative health consequences.

Research also indicates that many LGBT young adults can find a sense of community at LGBT bars and clubs which sometimes provides environments conducive to tobacco use.

“This Free Life” launches in 12 markets this week using print, digital and out-of-home ads, as well as outreach at the local level to showcase tobacco-free behaviors and attitudes within the LGBT Community.  The $35.7 million campaign is funded by user fees collected from the tobacco industry.

This Free Life
This Free Life

LGBT Community Should Call it Quits

More than a quarter of people in the LGBT community engage in an activity that has significant negative consequences for their health. It can cause debilitating diseases and lead to premature death. It is also something that is preventable—smoking.

Smoking causes more deaths in the United States than HIV, illegal drug use and alcohol use combined, and more than 30,000 LGBT people die each year of tobacco-related diseases.
Members of the LGBT community smoke at rates 50 percent higher than the general population. Some studies indicate that LGBT adults are 1.5 to 2.5 times more likely to smoke than heterosexual adults. And, although most LGBT smokers say that they know smoking is harmful to their health, fewer have tried to quit (75 percent versus 80 percent of all adults).

It is understandable why the smoking rates within the LGBT community are higher. For some, the stress that comes with living in places that may not be accepting can lead them to smoke. At the same time, the big tobacco companies have marketed their products specifically to our community, hoping that slick campaigns entice young, and often vulnerable, individuals to start smoking.

The problem is that some of the most serious health conditions our community has been battling for decades are made that much worse with smoking. Smoking can make it more difficult to fight off infections, and people with HIV who smoke have a higher risk of complications than nonsmokers.

Quitting, while it may be hard, is not impossible.  Research has shown that one of the best ways to quit is with the support of one’s community. The people around you can help keep you motivated and can help you quit for good.

This is why the DC Center for the LGBT Community recently worked with dozens of other organizations on a campaign to help people in D.C. quit. The campaign, DC Calls It Quits, took place the week of Sept. 21 and had the support of more than 40 local organizations, government agencies and health groups.

The goal of the week was to show people that there are a variety of community resources available—including help lines, support meetings and therapies—that can make quitting easier.

Smoking cessation is an important component of LGBT health and wellness. If you need help, join a local support group that specifically focuses on LGBT smoking cessation, try to quit with a friend or partner – do whatever it takes.

(Residents can access free support to quit smoking by calling 1-800-QUITNOW. D.C. residents who call this number can get free smoking cessation aids like nicotine gum or patches. Combining nicotine replacement therapy with such a program will double your chances of quitting successfully.

This article originally appeared in the Washington Blade.  

LGBT HealthLink Grades States on LGBT Tobacco Integration

LGBT Health Link

Ft. Lauderdale, FL – December 10, 2014 – LGBT HealthLink today announced the first ever grades for state tobacco programs’ LGBT inclusion practices. The grades, based on a survey of best practices originally conducted in 2013 and updated this fall, represent an assessment of the overall progress each state has made in addressing inclusion, including policies, training, data collection, and community engagement. Grades span from “A” to “F”, with the average across states a “C+”.

LGBT people smoke at rates that are over 50% higher than the general population and experience profound health disparities in both cancer and smoking-related disease. The survey was developed to bring transparency to how successful states are at integrating this disproportionately affected population into their overall tobacco control work.

According to Daniella Matthews-Trigg, Administrator of LGBT HealthLink, “The results of this survey not only illustrate the work that needs to be done, but highlights the impressive efforts by many states. Our hope is that creating a system for comparison will motivate states to adopt as many best practices as possible, thereby improving acceptance and wellness in LGBTQ communities around the country”. LGBT HealthLink is offering resources to each state to improve their grades.

For several years, LGBT HealthLink (formerly the Network for LGBT Health Equity) has been circulating “Identifying and Eliminating LGBT Tobacco Disparities”, a document outlining the best practices for state programs in LGBT tobacco control, and working closely with states to implement them. These report cards are intended to gauge adoption of those best practices at a state level and create a baseline for future work.

The release of the report cards comes just after the CDC’s Office of Smoking and Health recently accepted applications from states for their next five years of tobacco funding. Dr. Scout, Director of LGBT HealthLink, noted that “In order to eliminate the LGBT smoking disparity, we need to make sure the tobacco control community targets us just like the tobacco industry already does.”

Matthews-Trigg emphasized how closely HealthLink is working with states improve their grades, “We are the people providing technical assistance to these states to do this well, so this is really a report card of our work as much as theirs. We look forward to continuing our work with the many amazing state representatives to get these grades even higher.”

View the report cards: www.lgbthealthlink.org/Report-Cards/2014

For more about the methodology and scoring:
www.lgbthealthlink.org/Report-Cards

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