Pride Month - June 2020

Here at Yorkshire Smokefree we are proud to celebrate and support Pride Month with you. Pride month is a time for celebration, equality, awareness and a greater focus on issues which currently affect the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual+) community as a whole, one of those issues is smoking. 

A recent study was undertaken by Public Health England in 2016 and discovered that people within the LGBTQIA+ community are significantly more likely to start smoking earlier, heavier and more than groups of their cisgender or heterosexual counterparts, although the smoking patterns in the trans community have not yet been mapped extensively the research does suggest they too share the concerning spike in smoking rates.

The available statistics uncovered that while 18.8% of cisgender and heterosexual people smoke, a worrying 24.6% of lesbian and gay people and 26.1% of bisexual are frequent and regular smokers. This trend is particularly prevalent with women in the community, who are much more likely to smoke than heterosexual women of the same age and social status. It was found by extensive Stonewall studies that 27.9% of gay and lesbian women and an even greater 30.5% of bisexual women currently smoke cigarettes.

Not only is the LGBTQIA+ community more at risk of social smoking, stress factors, and cigarettes marketed at them, they are being disproportionally affected by social inequality and discrimination. Meaning their chances of exposure to negative habits like smoking increase exponentially when paired with serious issues like homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse. Lack of openness and inclusive language, as well as not feeling able or welcome to access essential services has also been cited as off-putting for the community when seeking help to quit smoking.

That’s why this Pride Month, here at Yorkshire Smokefree its never been more important to us to stand beside, celebrate and champion the LGBTQIA+ community and encourage individuals within it to lean on us for expert advice, guidance and support via our telephone service, face to face meetings, group sessions, or using our innovative online quit programme with interactive features. Our specialists are on hand to help and keep you strong throughout your stop smoking journey, we’ve helped thousands of people both in and out of the LGBTQIA+ community just like you quit smoking and breathe easily for good. 

We treat our quitters as individuals, focusing on their key needs in a friendly, informal and respectful environment so that each person is given the tools they need to go smoke-free, change their habits, grow a more positive mindset and put their health and wellbeing first.

So this Pride Month, what better way to celebrate love by celebrating life without smoking? If you’re inspired to be the change you need in your community, get in touch with our team for a Callback Request today.

References: 

https://ash.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/HIRP-LGBT-community.pdf

https://lgbt.foundation/news/smoking-in-the-lgbt-community/255