APRIL 24.2004 • Q-NOTES
Health
17
Lesbians and bisexual girls
face more likely to use
tobacco products
Study shows gay men as likely as
heterosexual men
by Mary-Ellen Shay
BOSTON, Mass. — A new study has
found that lesbian and bisexual girls may
be among the hardest hit
by tobacco among the
nation’s young people.
Led by researchers at
Children’s Hospital Boston
and Brigham and
Women’s Hospital in
Boston, the study appears
in the April issue of the
Archives of Pediatrics and
Adolescent Medicine.
Using data from adoles
cents participating in the
Growing Up Today Study,
an ongoing national
health study of more than
16,000 adolescents in the
U.S., researchers found
that lesbian and bisexual
girls ages 12 to 17 were
almost 10 times more likely
to say they smoke weekly
compared to heterosexual
girls of the same age.
Almost 40 percent of les
bian and bisexual girls
reported that they smoked
weekly compared to only 6 percent of hetero
sexual girls in the study who reported weekly
smoking. Lesbian and bisexual girls also were
about 60 percent more likely than heterosex
ual girls to say they would be willing to use
tobacco promotional merchandise, such as
hats, T-shirts and bags. Gay and bisexual
boys in the study were not more likely to
smoke compared to heterosexual boys.
Girls and boys in the Growing Up Today
Study, conducted primarily through
Brigham and Women’s Hospital and
Harvard Medical School in Boston, are sur
veyed annually about a wide variety of
health concerns. The Children’s Hospital
Boston study was based on surveys com
pleted by 10,685 girls and boys in 1999.
Researchers then looked at why this trend
Almost 40 percent of lesbian and
bisexual girls report that they
smoke weekly, compared to only
six percent of heterosexual girls.
was happening in this adolescent group.
Despite extensive public health efforts to pre
vent smoking and encourage smoking cessa
tion, the tobacco industry has created mar
keting that specifically targets women.
Though these products cannot be “legally”
promoted or sold to
minors, cigarettes and
tobacco promotional
items end up in the
hands of millions of ado
lescents every year.
“We were surprised
by the very high rates of
smoking by lesbian and
bisexual teenage girls,”
said lead author S. Bryn
Austin, a researcher at
Children’s Hospital
Boston, and who holds
a doctorate in public
health. “Antigay stigma
and harassment, rejec
tion from family,
friends, peers and
sometimes even physi
cal violence can create a
hostile environment for
many young people
coming to terms with
their sexual orientation.
This combined with the
tobacco industry’s tar
geted marketing to les
bian and gay communities is putting lesbian
and bisexual girls in harm’s way. We are con
cerned that these girls may be slipping under
the radar screen when it comes to tobacco
prevention efforts in schools and communi
ties. More needs to be done to protect these
girls and to address the social issues that may
lead to their increased tobacco use.”
Researchers also found that given the
frequency of smoking, coupled with high
scores on the tobacco dependence index, it
is unlikely that the lesbian and bisexual
girls in the study were experimenting or
casual smokers. Furthermore, it is likely
that these girls are addicted to nicotine or
are moving in that direction.
— U.S. Newswire
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