Smoking rates higher in the LGBT community

The American Lung Association (ALA) has come out with a new study showing that members of the LGBT community are more likely to smoke than cis and hetero folks. While higher rates of smoking and drinking among marginalized groups have been discussed in the Feministing community before, having hard evidence is even more validating:

• Gay, bisexual and transgender men are 2.0 to 2.5 times more likely to smoke than heterosexual men.
• Lesbian, bisexual and transgender women are 1.5 to 2.0 times more likely to smoke than heterosexual women.
• Bisexual boys and girls have some of the highest smoking rates when compared with both their heterosexual and homosexual peers.

Good on ALA for doing this. They’re also calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and all state Departments of Health to include sexual orientation and gender identity in public health surveys. Check out the details of the study. (PDF)