F E A T. U R E
pie. Study after study confirms that dispropor
tionate numbers of lesbian and gay adults and
youth smoke.
“By giving a perfect score to Reynolds
American, the HRC is promoting health
inequalities, not corporate equalityj’ he said.
“Until tobacco companies stop selling addic
tion and disease to LGBT communities, they
should not be included in an index of equality”
Lee’s page-and-a-half letter was referenced
and cited 25 times with research studies and
reports, some as recent as this year, showing
that LGBT people are more likely to start
smoking because of stress from discrimination
and oppression, persistent and targeted adver
tising by the industry and exposure to smok
ing environments, such as gay clubs and bars.
“For better or worse, bars and clubs have
long been an important part of our commu
nities,” Lee told Q-Wbtes. “Many bars are, in
fact, paid by the tobacco industry to allow
and promote smoking. It is the social envi
ronment of smoky places, discrimination and
targeted marketing that pushes LGBT youth
to start smoking.”
Sally Herndon Malek, director of the
Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch at the
N.C. Division of Public Health, told Q-Notes
that her program had attempted to gather
information specific to North Carolina lesbian,
gay and bisexual (LGB) communities and
their smoking habits.
In 2004, she and other staff attended the
NC Pride Fest and Parade in Durham. Out of a
small sample of 136 surveys collected there
— one of the only Carolina-specific attempts
^online q-poll^
Should companies
promoting addictive and
unhealthy products
(cigarettes, alcohol, etc.) be
included in the
Human Rights Campaign’s
Corporate Equality Index?
See the options and vote at
www.q-notes.com
We buy interesting & worthwhile
used books & Compact Discs.
Books Do Furnish A Room
1809 W Markham Avenue • 280-1070
(Between 9lh & Broad) Durham
at LGB tobacco use data collection — Malek
found a higher rate of smoking among LGB
adults (42 percent) than the general popula
tion of adults in the state (24.8 percent, in the
same time period). Among non-smoking LGB
respondents, 47 percent said they were most
exposed to second-hand smoke in bars.
In particular, her community survey
showed that 59 percent of the North Carolina
LGB youths aged 18-24 reported using tobac
co products. She said that only 31.3 percent of
youth the same age report smoking in the
general population.
“Rates are higher across North Carolina in
that population [of 18-24 year olds] in general
because there was a cohort of young people
who were smoking at higher rates,” she said.
“We have been successful in North Carolina,
beginning W put some things into practice
that really help prevent tobacco use initiation
among young people.”
In a publication of the community survey
results, Malek and her staff ceded that the
sample size was small, but that the data col
lected provided “some insight into tobacco
use prevalence in the LGB population in
North Carolina.”
Daryl Herrschaft, director of the HRC
Foundation Workplace Project, told Q-Notes
via phone that the national organization is
cognizant of the health-related ramifications
of tobacco use. “HRC does not accept spon
sorship dollars from tobacco companies
because we recognize the harmful effects that
tobacco has done, and in some ways its dis
proportionate effect on our community ...
We don’t want to play a role in advocating
smoking to our membership and to people
who come to our events.”
He said the CEI scores aren’t meant to
reflect anything other than a company’s treat
ment of LGBT employees.
“The Corporate Equality Index address
es only corporate policies that impact LGBT
people,” Herrschaft said. “It also addresses
external actions of the company that direct
ly and primarily impact LGBT equality. The
Corporate Equality Index is only one meas
ure of policies for LGBT employees and we
strongly encourage everyone to seek out
and pay attention to other indicators that
are important to them.”
see HRC on 16
Your (ir ^ Ou
R hPIRIISE = EkBIHQ
10% Discount
Full-Service Auto Repair Facility
ail makes and models
serving ChBrlotte since !930
Tire Rotation • Wheel Balancing
Alignment - 2 & 4 Wheel
Windshield Wiper Blades
Fuel Injection Service * Coolant Flush
CHARLESTOUJ
221 Ashley Avenue ~ Historic Downtown Charlastbn
CharlestonChapel.com
^ivil Unions & Commitment Ceremonies
MARCH 21 .2009 • QNotes 15