Quitting with Pride
This Pride month, celebrate your health by making a commitment to quit smoking or helping someone you care about quit. Whether or not you are a part of the LGBT community yourself, you may not know that there are many health concerns affecting LGBT people, including increased prevalence of cigarette smoking. It’s important to bring attention to these issues year-round—not only during Pride.
Many free resources are available, including a confidential quit line service. For FREE help to quit smoking call the Nevada Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) from a NV area code. Calling a quit line can connect you with a coach who can help you plan the best strategy to succeed. Everyone’s quit journey is unique and there are many things you can do to improve your chance of success.
About 1 in every 5 lesbian/gay/bisexual adults smokes, and that number may be as high as 1 in 3 for transgender adults. There are many reasons for this, including the prejudice and stigma these groups may face. It is also due in part to the aggressive marketing by tobacco companies that sponsor events, promotions, giveaways, and advertisements.
Pride is about being united, not divided. Everyone can play a part in lowering the number of LGBTQ+ people who smoke, including supporting those who want to quit smoking, and helping prevent youth from starting to smoke.
