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LETTER |
The authors are with the Kansas City Health Department, Kansas City, Mo.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Rex Archer, MD, Kansas City Health Department, 2400 Troost, Suite 4000, Kansas City, MO 64108 (e-mail: rex_archer{at}kcmo.org).
In "Tobacco Use and Cessation Among a Household-Based Sample of US Urban Men Who Have Sex With Men," Greenwood et al. reported that the current smoking rate for urban men who have sex with men was 31.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 28.6%, 34.3%), and that this rate was higher than that for men in the general population (24.7%; 95% CI = 21.2%, 28.2%).1 This observation was similar to that reported in the Kansas City bistate metropolitan area, where the following rates of cigarette smoking were found: 37.1% (95% CI = 35%, 39.2%) for men who have sex with men, 28.6% (95% Cl = 9.3%, 47.9%) for bisexual men, 38.1% (95% Cl = 34%, 42.2%) for lesbians, and 55.3% (95% Cl = 41.1%, 69.5%) for bisexual women.2
As Greenwood et al. indicated, tobacco companies promote their products heavily in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) communities. Thus, it is not surprising that other recent studies of LGBT adults and youths have also demonstrated higher smoking rates than those observed among heterosexuals.3–5
While disparities in health behaviors, illnesses, and deaths are often thought of in terms of racial/ethnic groups or male and female gender, public health agencies must also recognize that disparities can exist because of sexual orientation and gender identification. As successful smoking cessation programs are developed that target LGBT communities,6 baseline data such as those reported by Greenwood et al. will become increasingly important for measuring program effectiveness.
When dealing with subsets of the community, such as the LGBT population, local public health entities may focus on specific diseases or risk behaviors. It is the responsibility of those who work in the public health field not to ignore other social and environmental issues that affect these groups, but rather to begin to build effective partnerships that address these groups’ concerns, problems, and disparities.
References
1. Greenwood GL, Paul JP, Pollack LM, et al. Tobacco use and cessation among a household-based sample of US urban men who have sex with men. Am J Public Health.2005;95:145–151.
2. PULSE Survey summary. Available at: http://www.kcmo.org/health.nsf/web/pulse?opendocument(PDF file). Accessed March 23, 2005.
3. Austin SB, Ziyadeh N, Fisher LB, Kahn JA, Colditz GA, Frazier AL. Sexual orientation and tobacco use in a cohort study of US adolescent girls and boys. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med.2004;158:317–322.
4. Eisenberg ME, Wechsler H. Social influences on substance-use behaviors of gay, lesbian, and bisexual college students: findings from a national study. Soc Sci Med.2003;57:1913–1923.
5. Tang H, Greenwood GL, Cowling DW, Lloyd JC, Roeseler AG, Bal DG. Cigarette smoking among lesbians, gays, and bisexuals: how serious a problem? (United States). Cancer Causes Control.2004; 15:797–803.
6. Harding R, Bensley J, Corrigan N. Targeting smoking cessation to high prevalence communities: outcomes from a pilot intervention for gay men. BMC Public Health.2004;4:43.
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  E. P. Gruskin, G. L. Greenwood, M. Matevia, L. M. Pollack, and L. L. Bye Disparities in Smoking Between the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Population and the General Population in California Am J Public Health, August 1, 2007; 97(8): 1496 - 1502. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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