CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) has released a new feature article on smoking and tobacco use in the LGBTQ+ community.  The article offers information on how everyone can help reduce smoking among LGBTQ+ people year-round.

About 1 in every 5 lesbian/gay/bisexual adults smoke cigarettes, and that number may be as high as 1 in 3 for transgender adults.  There are many reasons for this, including stress related to prejudice and stigma and aggressive target marketing by tobacco companies that sponsor events, promotions, giveaways, and advertisements.

Smoking causes illness, injury, and death.  In this article, read about Brian I., a gay man who spoke to CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers campaign about his smoking-related health struggles.  You can also find strategies and support to help you quit, and find out what healthcare professionals, states, communities, and parents of LGBTQ+ kids can do to reduce smoking and promote health.  In addition to Brian the article also features Scout, Executive Director of the National LGBT Cancer Network, whose organization works to identify and reduce tobacco-related and cancer prevention disparities for LGBTQ+ people.

Here are social media messages you can use with the attached images to promote the feature through your social media channels.

• Twitter:  This #PrideMonth celebrate who you are and make a commitment to quit smoking or help someone you care about to quit.  Learn how to take action:  https://bit.ly/2XWadCP
  
• Facebook:  This #PrideMonth celebrate who you are and make a commitment to quit smoking or help someone you care about to quit.  Learn how to take action:  https://bit.ly/3fmQ52L
  

Consider using the following text on your website or in your next newsletter:

• A new CDC feature article focuses on health disparities and higher smoking prevalence in the LGBTQ+ community, and what states, healthcare providers, individuals, and more can do to help.

The feature article is available for website syndication.  Follow these directions:

To syndicate a page, select the orange syndication button at the top right of the page.  It will take you to the Public Health Media Library, which includes a preview of the page along with the embed code.  To access the embed code, click the “Get Embed Code” tab and follow the prompts.

Thank you for sharing these resources and supporting OSH’s efforts to end tobacco-related disparities in marginalized populations.