LGBT Anti Smoking effort begins in Alaska

This past week the American Lung Association of the Northwest announced a new front on its war on smoking: The ALA is launching a campaign aimed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, which the organization says has one of the highest rates of smoking among minority populations. Joanie Fogel, the project’s director, says that the tobacco industry has targeted the LGBT community via advertisements in gay publications like The Advocate and by sponsoring events at gay pride parades and bars. “What I want to stress most is that the LGBT population has a higher prevalence of smoking and probably one of the largest nationwide as far as any community, therefore they suffer disproportionately from tobacco related diseases like cancer, COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], and heart disease.”

http://www.anchoragepress.com/articles/2008/11/26/news/doc492dab9624ab7376087730.txt