Sherbourne Health Centre study shows Toronto’s LGBTTQ people twice as likely to smoke cigarettes

People in Toronto’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender and queer (LGBTTQ) communities are twice as likely to smoke cigarettes as the city’s general population.

According to a report released today 36% of LGBTTQ participants reported current smoking, while the latest figures from the Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS) as reported by Toronto Public Health show that 17% of the city’s adults (18+) are smokers. The findings appear in The Toronto Rainbow Tobacco Survey: A Report on Tobacco Use in Toronto’s LGBTTQ Communities.

“This confirms what other research from the U.S. has told us about smoking in queer and trans communities,” says Michèle Clarke, health promoter at Sherbourne Health Centre and a member of the research team. The Toronto Rainbow Tobacco Survey gathered data from over 3,000 members of Toronto’s LGBTTQ communities from April to July 2006 through outreach at LGBTTQ community events and through an online survey. The survey was conducted by the Rainbow Tobacco Intervention Project.

The results of the survey, the first of its kind, will be shared at a community forum on Wednesday January 24th at the 519 Community Centre, 519 Church Street from 6.00 – 7.30 pm.

Some key findings from this survey include:

• 36% of LGBTTQ participants reported current smoking, 25% were past smokers and 39% had never smoked compared to 17% of Toronto adults 18+ reporting current smoking, 22% reporting past smoking and 61% reporting never smoking (RRFSS 2005)

• Smoking prevalence rates ranged from 24% to 45% across the different sexual orientation and gender identity groups, with bisexual women and bisexual men reporting the highest smoking rate at 45%

• LGBTTQ youth reported very high smoking rates with 50% of those in the under 15 age group and 57% of those in the 15 to 19 age group reporting current smoking

“Smoking is a serious health issue for our communities and these higher rates mean that we need more education targeted at LGBTTQ people and more treatment to help them quit,” says Clarke.