LGBT Cancer and Smoke Ending

There’s a new smoke ending program at Howard Brown center in Chicago. According to the National LGBT Tobacco Control Network, queer people are 50 to 200 percent more likely to be addicted to smoking than other groups (depending on the group). This is also true among youth populations, who are up to 16 percent more likely to light up than their straight counterparts. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 30,000 self-identified LGBT people die each year from tobacco-related diseases (or between 80 to 85 people every day).

Kristin Torres, project manager at Howard Brown, says that  “ internalized homophobia and homophobia from other groups making us feel isolated. Folks have really internalized that and turned it into habits that are bad for their bodies.” Torres also says that marginalized people often pick up habits that make them look tougher.