National Youth Advocacy Coalition Survey Explores Tobacco Use By LGBTQ Youth
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Posted: 08/24/2010 - 13:57
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New Data Emphasizes Need For Better Youth Intervention And Prevention Strategies
August 24, 2010 – A new report, “Coming Out about Smoking: Tobacco Use in the LGBTQ Young Adult Community” released today by the National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC) explores the reasons why sexual minority youth smoke and suggests strategies for prevention.
The report finds that sexual minority youth are likely to smoke due to unique stressors such as discrimination and lack of family acceptance; that many sexual minority youth see smoking as an important social activity; that most sexual minority youth prefer to date nonsmokers; and that sexual minority youth smokers tend not to smoke heavily, with many wanting to quit. In order to reduce smoking rates, the report recommends intervention programs designed by youth and for youth, early outreach to youth smokers, and emphasis on the health risks of smoking. The full report is available online here.
“Coming Out About Smoking” utilizes information from focus groups and a survey of nearly 1000 sexual minority youth. The survey was written to address the gaps in research on tobacco use in the LGBTQ community.
“Current data suggest that sexual minority youth are more likely to smoke than the general youth population, but this report examines why. There is plenty of opportunity for intervention; we need to encourage tobacco prevention programs designed and driven by and for youth, which both emphasize the health risks of smoking and relate to the major stressors sexual minority youth face each day,” said Gregory Varnum, Executive Director of NYAC:
The National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC) is a national social justice organization working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people to strengthen the role of young people in the LGBTQ rights movement. Celebrating its 17th anniversary, NYAC's full-time professional staff supports local, state and national organizations working to engage LGBTQ youth. NYAC is committed to representing the voices of young people - the largest living generation - within the broader LGBTQ and social justice movements. Through capacity building, advocacy and youth engagement, NYAC is building a generation of impact. To learn more, go to www.nyacyouth.org
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