The U.S. government is beefing up its efforts to curb smoking among young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans through a $35.7 million anti-tobacco campaign launched on May 2.
The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) "This Free Life" drive features four public service videos designed to convince young LGBT adults, particularly those who are between 18 and 24 years old, to limit their tobacco use.
According to the FDA, those who belong to this age group are almost twice as likely to smoke compared to others of their age.
Mitch Zeller, head of the agency's Center for Tobacco Products, explained that such an anti-tobacco campaign has long been needed. He said that young LGBT adults become vulnerable to various unhealthy behaviors because of what they have to go through during their coming out process.
He pointed out that people typically come out by the time they reach 18 years old, and a number of young LGBT adults start to smoke cigarettes to help them reduce stress around this time as well. As many as 800,000 individuals of the more than 2 million young LGBT adults in the country use tobacco, Zeller added.
LGBT young adults are at high risk of using tobacco when they undergo a "coming out" process, the FDA says. They often smoke cigarettes to help them deal with the anxiety, stigma and discrimination typically associated with such a process.
The "coming out" process that many young LGBT adults experience has also been shown to be linked to tobacco use and the development of various health problems as well.
The FDA videos tell about the stories of some LGBT who experienced adversity when they went through their process of coming out. They show how these individuals faced criticism and being misunderstood by others and how they were able to find support.
One of the This Free Life clips tells viewers that thousands of LGBT lose their lives to complications of smoking every year, but that they can do something to change the situation.
"This new life, free from judgement, free from the shadows, will also be free from Tobacco," the video says.
Photo: Hanna Sörensson | Flickr
