By Kera Soko
'When did smoking become a part of us?' This catch slogan is traveling cross-country alongside an image of a cigarette as a stripe on the rainbow flag.
On Jan. 1, when Illinois statewide no-smoking ban went into effect, was it a direct hit against the gay community or just against smokers? After all, numbers from the Women's Health Initiative show that gay females smoke at twice the rate of heterosexual female smokers.
Howard Brown Health Center reports that 17 percent of the overall male population smokes while 27 percent of gay men smoke do. The combined death toll of smokers and secondhand inhalers totals 438,000 annually.
According to the Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ) , cigarette companies need to find replacements for the 1,200 dead consumers and 3,500 who quit each year. As a result, tobacco companies have focused their advertising efforts on minority groups—including, most notably, the gay community. Kristen Torres of the Bitch to Quit lesbian cessation program ( of the Lesbian Community Care Project ) finds it hard not to notice issues behind gays smoking. The correlation is hard to miss, Torres points out, with data stating that the LGBT community smokes at a rate of 40 percent, as compared to the general population's 20 percent. And for Illinois, the gay population of smokers goes up, since a 2004 CDC survey on smoking prevalence revealed 22.2 percent of men and women in Illinois smoke, as compared to California's rate of 14.8 percent.
Not only do 80 to 90 percent of smokers take their first drag before age 20, but the National Lesbian Survey points out that lesbians smoke more as they age, whereas the general populace of women smoke less as it becomes older. And with tobacco's new stratagem of selective advertising techniques that promote gay-friendly events and venues, underage smoking is occurring in greater numbers.
Bob Gordon of San Francisco's Last Drag program cannot help but notice the correlation between smoking and the problems gays face self-identifying. The largest percentage problem, and possibly the problem itself, involves self-identifying 18-24-year-olds perpetuating their outcast image. Torres hypothesized, '…when you're a gay youth, you already feel like an outsider. ... Smoking makes you look and feel tough, but also reaffirms the idea of being an outsider—different.' In comparison, their peers only smoke at a rate of 18 percent.
Initially, local bars and nightclubs had until July 1 to adhere to the new law. But now, most public establishments statewide will be smoke-free. A 73-42 House vote and the signature of Gov. Rod Blagojevich ensured that Illinois is part of a country-wide non-smoking movement.
Actually, American Medical Association President Ron Davis, M.D., told the Heartland Institute that Illinois has gone further than other participating states, since it has passed one of the 'strongest clean indoor air law [ s ] in the country.'
In 1989, under the original Clean Indoor Air Act, Illinois segregated smoking into sections within buildings. And Illinois has fought for a long time to become smoke-free. But, because of preemption, a legal control device used by tobacco and implanted into legislation, state anti-smoking laws were weaker than local ones. Only recently, Illinois made the effort to partially reverse preemption, putting regulation back in the hands of the state. With the same crew responsible for Illinois being one of the first states to begin reversing preemption on Jan. 1, 2006, Rep. Karen A. Yarbrough, D-Maywood, and Gov. Rod Blagojevich were also responsible for the tight wording in the most recent bill—now law.
Smoking will not be allowed in places such as nursing homes, police cars, cigar bars, places of employment and even within 15 feet of public entrances.
