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LGBT Health Awareness Week: Clearing the air  

Clearing the air is the goal of LGBT Health Awareness Week this year. The Chicago Public Health Department, National Coalition for LGBT Health and Howard Brown Health Center joined forces to combat smoking.

LGBT people smoke, on average, more than their straight counterparts. Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Bechara Choucair said various studies show queer community members are 1.5 to 2.5 times as likely to smoke--for various reasons.

Choucair hopes "Come Out for Health" inspires people to quit. Choucair said the targeted campaign encourages people to call the Tobacco Quitline at 866-QUIT-YES.

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Chicago participates in LGBT Health Awareness Week with quit smoking campaign 

's the 10th Annual LGBT Health Awareness Week and the Chicago Department of Health is encouraging the community to quit smoking.

Researchers, including the American Lung Association, believe that there is a higher prevalence of smoking in the LGBT community. According to statistics in a report released by Howard Brown, the National LGBT Tobacco Control Network, and the Fenway Institute in 2005, LGBT individuals are 40-70 percent more likely to smoke cigarettes than non-LGBT individuals. The same report attributes the increased use within the community to "higher levels of social stress, frequent patronage of bars and clubs, higher rates of alcohol and drug use, and direct targeting of LGBT consumers by the tobacco industry."

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Study of the Day: Gay Adults More Likely to Smoke, Less Likely to Quit 

A new survey out of Colorado suggests that a different approach to smoking cessation might be necessary for the LGBT community.

PROBLEM: On the whole, roughly 40 percent of smokers plan to quit while another 20 percent are at least getting ready to. Are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults who are hooked on nicotine just as interested in stopping? . . .

CONCLUSION: LGBT adults are much more likely to smoke and much less likely to want to quit.

IMPLICATION: Before worrying too much about tailoring smoking cessation programs, senior author Arnold Levinson says in a statement that "we need public health campaigns to get the GLBT smoker population thinking about quitting."

SOURCE: The full study, "Smoking Cessation Treatment Preferences, Intentions, and Behaviors Among a Large Sample of Colorado Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Smokers," is published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

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Smoking Cessation Treatment Preferences, Intentions, and Behaviors Among a Large Sample of Colorado Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Smokers 

Conclusions: GLBT self-identification was not associated with lower than average acceptance of evidence-based smoking cessation strategies, especially NRT, but a large minority of GLBT smokers were unlikely to seek cessation assistance through clinical encounters. Public health campaigns should focus on supporting motivation to quit and providing nonclinical access to evidence-based treatments.

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Capital Pride wants smoking ban eased 

A proposed smoking ban on municipal properties such as City Hall could hurt attendance at the Capital Pride festival, say organizers who are calling for a grace period this summer if the new rules are approved.

Proposed bylaw amendments would see smoking prohibited on city properties such as parks, beaches, sports fields and areas outside municipal facilities, as well as bar and restaurant patios.

Events on city properties would also be smoke-free under the regulations, something that would affect the 2012 Capital Pride festival planned for Marion Dewar Plaza outside City Hall, organizers said.

This year's Capital Pride event is planned for August, while a recommended enforcement plan for the new rules would see bylaw officers issue tickets to offenders starting July 2.

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Capital Pride organizers want grace period on outdoor smoking ban 

A proposed smoking ban on municipal properties such as City Hall could hurt attendance at the Capital Pride festival, say organizers who are calling for a grace period this summer if the new rules are approved.

Proposed bylaw amendments would see smoking prohibited on city properties such as parks, beaches, sports fields and areas outside municipal facilities, as well as bar and restaurant patios.

Events on city properties would also be smoke-free under the regulations, something that would affect the 2012 Capital Pride festival planned for Marion Dewar Plaza outside City Hall, organizers said.

This year’s Capital Pride event is planned for August, while a recommended enforcement plan for the new rules would see bylaw officers issue tickets to offenders starting July 2.

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Smoking ban may hurt Pride attendance: officials 

Organizers of this year's Capital Pride festival are worried a proposed ban on smoking outdoors on city property could crimp attendance at the annual celebration held at Marion Dewar Plaza.

Capital Pride Committee Chair Loresa Novy said the expanded smoking bylaw, which could be in place by spring, could have a disproportionate effect on Ottawa's LBGT community.

"We do have a higher population of smokers within the LGBT population," she said, "And we're worried that they won't attend the festival due to the smoking bylaw."

Novy is also concerned that the costs of enforcing the rules could fall to Capital Pride, and would like to see a more gradual implementation or grace period while festival-goers adjust to the smoking ban.

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Smoking, Not HIV, Causes Higher Lung Cancer Risk In People With HIV  

Results from a recent Swiss study indicate that the higher risk of developing lung cancer in people with HIV compared to the general population arises from heavy smoking, not HIV infection.

Based on the results, the study authors recommended implementing strategies to reduce smoking, and therefore lung cancer risk, in HIV-positive adults.

The study authors also speculated that links between lung cancer and HIV or immune deficiency in previous studies were caused by overrepresentation of people with advanced HIV infections in lung cancer studies or accidental inclusion of cancers known to be caused by infectious diseases, such as Kaposi’s sarcoma of the lung.

According to the study authors, previous research has shown that people with HIV are at about a two- to seven-fold increased risk for lung cancer compared to people without HIV (see related AIDS Beacon news). However, scientists are uncertain whether this higher risk arises from HIV or from lifestyle factors, such as a greater rate of smoking in people with HIV.

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Cancer Among Hispanics with HIV/AIDS 

The most common non-AIDS-defining cancers in patients with HIV are anal, lung, and liver cancers and Hodgkin lymphoma. These four cancers made up nearly half of all non-AIDS-defining cancers diagnosed in this population from 2001 through 2005. Higher risks for these cancers reflect co-infections such as human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B and C viruses, and Epstein-Barr virus, as well as higher smoking rates in the HIV/AIDS population. Thus, although fewer people now die of AIDS, cancer is emerging as an important cause of death for the HIV-infected population.

Preventing cancer

Preventing cancers that are increasing among the HIV-infected population is now a major focus of people who treat those with HIV. This effort includes trying to combat viral co-infections that cause cancer through prevention, screening, and treatment and avoiding exposure to other risk factors, such as smoking. Both men and women who are infected with HIV should discuss screening options for cancer with their medical providers. The risk of lung cancer can be reduced by quitting smoking. Because HIV-infected people have a higher risk of lung cancer, it is especially important that they do not smoke.

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Cancer Among African Americans with HIV/AIDS  

Racial and ethnic minorities in America have been hit harder than white Americans by the HIV/AIDS epidemic-they make up about one-third of the population but two-thirds of all cases. In 2009, African Americans made up 14 percent of the population but accounted for 44 percent of all new HIV infections. And Hispanics made up 16 percent of the population but 20 percent of new cases in 2009.

All patients infected with HIV, including racial and ethnic minorities, are benefiting from new, more effective therapies developed over the last 15 years. But as patients are living longer, the distribution of cancer has shifted dramatically. While the types of cancer that have been typically associated with AIDS progression are on the decline in the HIV/AIDS population, other types of cancer are now on the rise. . . .

The most common non-AIDS-defining cancers in patients with HIV are anal, lung, and liver cancers and Hodgkin lymphoma. These four cancers made up nearly half of all non-AIDS-defining cancers diagnosed in this population from 2001 through 2005. Higher risks for these cancers reflect co-infections such as human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B and C viruses, and Epstein-Barr virus, as well as higher smoking rates in the HIV/AIDS population. Thus, although fewer people now die of AIDS, cancer is emerging as an important cause of death for the HIV-infected population.

Preventing cancer

Preventing cancers that are increasing among the HIV-infected population is now a major focus of people who treat those with HIV. This effort includes trying to combat viral co-infections that cause cancer through prevention, screening, and treatment and avoiding exposure to other risk factors, such as smoking. Both men and women who are infected with HIV should discuss screening options for cancer with their medical providers. The risk of lung cancer can be reduced by quitting smoking. Because HIV-infected people have a higher risk of lung cancer, it is especially important that they do not smoke.

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Lung cancer in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study: role of smoking, immunodeficiency and pulmonary infection 

conclusion: Lung cancer in the SHCS does not seem to be clearly associated with immunodeficiency or AIDS-related pulmonary disease, but seems to be attributable to heavy smoking.

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• HIV & AIDS Information :: Smoking, not immunodeficiency or lung disease, increases lung cancer risk for patients with HIV 

Cigarette smoking is the single most important risk factor for lung cancer in patients with HIV, Swiss investigators report in the online edition of the British Journal of Cancer.

Smoking was associated with a 14-fold increase in the risk of the malignancy. Unlike some other studies, the Swiss found no evidence that either a low CD4 cell count or a history of AIDS-defining lung disease were associated with lung cancer.

The study also showed the benefits of stopping smoking. The risk of lung cancer was significantly lower for former smokers compared to current smokers.

“Focusing on ways to help to quit smoking would be effective in reducing lung cancer,” comment the investigators.

Lung cancer is one of the more common non-AIDS-defining cancers seen in patients with HIV. This could be because a large proportion of HIV-positive patients are smokers and studies have shown a consistent relationship between smoking and lung cancer risk for HIV-positive individuals.

However, some research has found a relationship between the malignancy and immune deficiency. In addition, other studies have shown that patients with a history of AIDS-defining pulmonary disease are also at greater risk of lung cancer. Importantly, the associations identified in these studies remained significant after controlling for smoking status.

Given this confusion, investigators from the Swiss HIV Cohort designed a case-controlled study to better identify the factors associated with an increased risk of lung cancer in their patients.

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Still smoking? The National LGBT Tobacco Control Network will help you quit in 2012 

That short and to-the-point fact -- and many others just as direct -- can already be found imprinted in large type on most of the cigarette packaging sold outside of the United States, and are soon expected to be coming to a pack of cigarettes near you.

The LGBT community has incredibly high rates when it comes to cigarette smoking, even today, after decades of research and hundreds of thousands of deaths have proven that smoking is indeed "hazardous" to your health and those around you.

Not only are smoking rates among the LGBT community high, they are much higher than the rest of the population (a recent study says as much as 3 times higher), and statistics show it is even more prevalent in cases of our youth.

According to the National LGBT Tobacco Control Network's webpage, "In a recent national study on adolescent health, 45% of females and 35% of males who reported same-sex attraction or behavior smoked; compared to only 29% for the rest of the youth."

They also report that the American Cancer Society estimates that "over 30,000 LGBT people die each year of tobacco related diseases."

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LGBT teens battle to quit smoking  

So, just how many Ohio youths are smoking now? The 2010 Ohio Youth Tobacco Survey, the most recent completed statewide survey, put the high school smoking rate at 16.7 percent. But the rate is higher for specific groups of teens and young adults.

In 2009, the state's ButtOut Ohio Project conducted a survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender high school and college students in Northeast Ohio and found that 62 percent had tried tobacco, 28 percent considered themselves regular smokers, and 52 percent said that they are occasional smokers. Those figures are high, as the nationwide rate of smoking for teens and young adults is 25 percent.

Nearly 60 percent of those in the LGBT Northeast Ohio survey said they had tried to stop smoking without success. Most said it was just too difficult.

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MU researchers' campaign targets gay smokers 

Smoking rates are higher among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Missourians than among the general population, and a team of University of Missouri researchers aims to figure out what to do about it.

Associate Professor Kevin Everett and Assistant Professor Jane McElroy of the Family & Community Medicine Department have spent several years collecting data that confirm the smoking rate disparity. They found that 35 percent to 40 percent of subgroups within the LGBT community in Missouri are smokers, compared with 21 percent of the general population.

Their work has been funded by the Missouri Foundation for Health, a St. Louis-based non-governmental group that invests in community health activities. It recently gave the team a $315,700 funding boost to pilot new smoking cessation programs targeting the LGBT community.

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