On July 1, 2020, Indiana will enact a statewide Tobacco 21 law, becoming the 23rd state to pass a statewide bill.

Governor Holcomb signed SB 1 on March 18, 2020 raising the tobacco sales age to 21, as well as doubling financial penalties on retailers, increasing the violation accrual period to 12 months (note: best practice is 36 months), and requires a 1,000-foot distance between new tobacco/vape shops and schools with existing businesses grandfathered.Ω

Indiana has a higher than the national average rate of high school smoking, and an above average rate of adult smoking as well. An estimated 151,000 children now under the age of 18 will eventually die prematurely due to smoking, with 3,700 children becoming daily smokers each year. The result is an annual health care cost of $2.93 billion that is directly caused by smoking, and another $3.17 billion in lost productivity. The state spends only 12.1% of the CDC recommended amount on tobacco prevention. Read more here

New CDC Feature Article for Pride Month Focuses on Reducing Smoking within the LGBTQ+ community

Pride means solidarity, community, and freedom to be yourself. CDC has released a new feature article with information on how everyone can help reduce smoking and tobacco use among LGBTQ+ people—not just during Pride Month but year-round.

About 1 in every 5 lesbian/gay/bisexual adults smoke cigarettes, and that number may be as high as 1 in 3 for transgender adults. There are many reasons for this, including stress related to prejudice and stigma and aggressive target marketing by tobacco companies that sponsor events, promotions, giveaways, and advertisements. 

Smoking causes illness, injury, and death. In this article, read about Brian I., a gay man who spoke to CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers® campaign about his smoking-related health struggles. You can also find strategies and support to help you quit, and find out what healthcare professionals, states, communities, and parents of LGBTQ+ kids can do to reduce smoking and promote health. In addition to Brain, the article also features Scout, Executive Director of the National LGBT Cancer Network, whose organization works to identify and reduce tobacco-related and cancer prevention disparities for LGBTQ+ people.

 

Make sure to follow @CDCTobaccoFree on Twitter and visit the CDC Tobacco Free Facebook page for more updates.

Tobacco companies have targeted LGBTQ+ populations for decades both through product advertising and philanthropic support. One example of this targeting has been documented by tobacco control professionals who discovered internal tobacco industry documents that revealed a tobacco company marketing campaign that was designed to increase smoking and brand loyalty among homeless people and lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in San Francisco’s Castro district. The marketing document was titled Sub Culture Urban Marketing or Project SCUM. Project SCUM, according to TobaccoDocuments.org, was an R.J. Reynolds plan circa 1995–1997 to increase promotion of its flagship brand Camel cigarettes to low socioeconomic consumer subcultures in the San Francisco Bay area. Specifically, those targeted were gay people in the Castro district, young people, immigrants and foreigners and the homeless. By marketing Camel cigarettes in less-traditional retail outlets, the company hoped to leverage what it believed was a higher incidence of smoking and drug use among these urban subcultures. R.J. Reynolds was not alone in seeking to attract LGBT people to smoke. A 1994 internal Philip Morris report on reaching the gay market with its Marlboro brand identified its advertising icon the Marlboro Man as “the ultimate stud” and “maybe a great one-nighter.”

https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=grjx0094

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm

Tobacco industry advertisements are filled with subtle and not-so-subtle LGBT imagery and messaging. They often depict tobacco use as a "normal" part of LGBT life.  The tobacco industry encourages menthol cigarette use among LGBT populations. Approximately 36% of LGBT smokers report smoking menthol cigarettes compared to 29% of heterosexual/straight smokers.

In addition, tobacco companies offer financial support to LGBT festivals, bars, media, and local organizations. Sometimes this money comes with conditions such as prohibiting gay bars from allowing clean air and tobacco prevention efforts onsite. Through these efforts, tobacco companies have sought to attract LGBT smokers, curry support, and blunt criticism from LGBT community leaders. As early supporters of LGBT causes, the tobacco companies garnered positive community responses since many other organizations avoided LGBT organizations. This tobacco industry funding sometimes compromised tobacco prevention activities by LGBT community organizations.

What can we do to address tobacco and health disparities in LGBTQ+ population?  Train local LGBTQ+ partners on tobacco control best practices and engage them in coalition decision making and activity planning. Train staff at LGBTQ+ organizations to implement the Ask-Advise-Refer process- 1-800-QUIT NOW. Review and share resources to learn more.

 

      Quitnowindiana.com

       1-800-QUIT-NOW

4 Simple Steps to Going Smoke -Free!

Now more than ever, we understand protecting your bottom line AND the health and safety of your employees and customers. Secondhand smoke has been identified as a risk factor for susceptibility to cornonovirus because of the demonstrative impact with diminished lung function and associated risk of respiratory illness. We recommend 4 easy steps that you can take TODAY to make your business or home smoke-free:

1. Create your policy- whether written as part of a lease or employee handbook, create a policy that clarifies your space as 100% smoke-free indoors, including but not limited to the use of any type of product:cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, hookahs and marijuana. Remember, smoking sections and ventilation systems do not effectively remove the risk factors of secondhand smoke.
2. Communicate the policy- send a message in advance to all residents, employees and customers that have now adopted a smoke-free policy for the health of everyone. Social media is a great way to engage with your audience and provide and outlet for questions or concerns.
3. Post signage- the vast majority of US adults (87%!) are nonsmokers which eases enforcement of the policy. Removing ashtrays and posting signs that indicate that the establishment is smoke-free helps let everyone know how to comply.
4. Enjoy the benefits- smoke-free air protects the health and safety of workers along with those who have respiratory and cardiovascular illness. Smoke-free air will help keep the air safe and welcoming in hospitality and entertainment workplaces for everyone.