Naphtali Offen, BS¹, Elizabeth Smith, PhD¹, and Ruth E. Malone, RN, PhD². (1) Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, Box 0612, San Francisco, CA 94143-0612, 415-514-3133, naph@itsa.ucsf.edu, (2) Dept. of Social & Behavioral Sciences and Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education, University of California, San Francisco, Box 1390, San Francisco, CA 94143-1390

We sought to determine the extent to which the tobacco industry has established relationships within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, the extent to which the LGBT community supports tobacco control policies, and the extent to which LGBT leaders perceive tobacco as a threat to their community.

We conducted telephone interviews with leaders of prominent LGBT organizations throughout the U.S. from September 2002 through May 2004, including advocacy groups, community centers, and publications. Interviews, were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim.

Out of a pool of 95 leaders, 65 granted us interviews. Preliminary results suggest that approximately 36 percent of our sample had previous contact with the tobacco industry, with 24 percent having received financial support from the industry. Forty-eight percent said they had contact with a tobacco control organization. .A majority of the non-community center organizations did not identify tobacco as a significant issue for the LGBT community. However, all of the community centers we spoke with had contact with tobacco control and most viewed tobacco as consequential for LGBTs.

Nearly eighty percent of our sample did not think tobacco was a significant issue for the LGBT community. That community centers were concerned about the issue may be related to a recent grant initiative involving community centers in tobacco control. This suggests that additional tobacco control outreach to various types of community organizations could help inoculate the community against the influence of the tobacco industry.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to

• Describe the ways in which the tobacco industry reaches out to LGBT organizations.
• Understand why the LGBT community is especially vulnerable to the “friendship” of the tobacco industry.
• Identify appropriate community responses to counter tobacco influence in the LGBT community.

Keywords: Gay, Lesbian Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.